The Avatar's Will of Fire
by MortalWarlock
Summary: A new world, new friends, and a new enemy. After defeating Madara, Naruto is called upon to help another world fight against an enemy that he finds far too familiar. Future NarutoXKorra AU
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Naruto _or _The Legend of Korra, _both of which belong to their respective companies, and I am not writing this for profit...damnit.**

"Prologue"

The war was over.

Against the greatest threat that the Elemental Nations' had ever faced, they had won, and Madara Uchiha was dead.

Too bad he wouldn't be able to enjoy it.

The Akatsuki War had raged for only one full year, but in that year, most specifically on that final, terrible night the war had ended, more people lost their lives than on any other day in the history of the Elemental Nations.

And seventeen-year old Naruto Uzumaki, shinobi of Konoha, was dying.

It was odd, now that he thought about it. For so long he had resisted death, fought so hard to ensure his and his friends' survival, but now that it was actually happening to him, now that Naruto knew he was about to die -there was not cure for chakra depletion, after all- he did not feel fear or sorrow, instead he only felt... content.

He had fulfilled his mission; to put the Akatsuki in the grave. Madara Uchiha was finally, truly dead. His friends, his _family, _were alive. They would -hopefully- mourn his passing, but in time, they would move on. Naruto would never accomplish his goal of becoming Hokage, but he could make peace with that. As long as the others were safe, he could die content, if not quite happy.

His part in this was over. The other villages would endure, rebuild. What was lost could be regained. Naruto himself did not exactly _want_ to die, but if he did, so be it. He was not a Jinchuuriki anymore; Kurama had ultimately sacrificed himself so that Naruto could land the killing blow to Madara. As such, his chakra would not replenish itself.

And lying there, under a clear moon and star-filled sky on the ground of some nameless snow-covered valley in a Country whose name he didn't even know, Naruto Uzumaki's only thought was, _beautiful,_ before he closed his eyes, and let the darkness take him for the last time.

0000

Naruto was confused; he knew that he was dying, but had not yet completely gone; he didn't even have enough strength left to move, so how was he standing upright? Better yet, since he was surrounded by nothing but darkness and couldn't even feel anything beneath his feet, how did Naruto know that he was standing? Or perhaps most important of all...

"Where the hell am I?"

As he tried to make out anything other than blackness, Naruto eventually caught sight of himself and had to fight back a gasp; he was healed! His clothes were still a mess; his dark shirt with orange trimming had numerous cuts all throughout is, his black pants were ripped and torn, his father's cloak absolutely ripped to shreds. But despite the damage to his clothes, his body was perfectly fine! No cuts, no bruises, no giant gaping holes where any of his major organs should be. His chakra supply had not recovered, but it had completely stabilized, at about one-fourth of his top strength.

As the war had raged, Naruto had sometimes wondered what death was like, if every person experienced their last moments in the same way or not. Normally, he would never be so insightful, but he felt that he could make an exception every now and then. But in all of his musings, Naruto never once thought that death would be like this...place.

"Where am I?" Naruto could hear an small echo-like effect to his words, nothing truly big, just enough to be noticed. Or maybe it was all in his head.

"You are at a crossroads, boy."

Okay, that was most definitely _not _in his head.

Turning to the direction that the unknown voice had come from, Naruto's eyes widened.

There, standing only a few feet away from him, was a man. The man was a little taller than Naruto, dressed in an odd, dark robe that covered his entire body. Strangely, the robe was somehow distinguishable in the darkness surrounding them; it appeared to be giving off an odd, otherworldly glow. However, this was not the feature of the man that stood out the most.

While the upper half of his face shrouded in darkness by his hood, the man's eyes were still clearly visible; two golden-yellow orbs, glowing in a way that could not be normal but still seemed somehow completely natural for this man, that seemed to bore into Naruto's very soul, that seemed to instantly understand his entire life.

Taking in the stranger's appearance fully, Naruto found himself wishing for a kunai, or a sword, or _something _that he could use to defend himself. While the man before him did not give off a threatening aura of any sort, Naruto had no doubt that he could hold his own in a fight, and with his own body still weak, and most of his chakra gone, Naruto wouldn't stand a chance.

"Who are you?"

The man seemed to smile at the question, and for some reason Naruto found himself relaxing slightly as he answered.

"Most know me as the Outsider, but you, my boy, may call me... Raven."

"Alright, then, _what _are you?" Perhaps not the most polite way to start of the conversation, but in Naruto's defense, he was pretty sure he was still dying.

To Naruto's irritation, the smile only seemed to widen, as if the man had known Naruto would ask that question.

"I am your salvation, Naruto Uzumaki."

Now Naruto's left eyebrow was beginning to twitch; he had never had much patience, and did not appreciate vagueness.

"Okay, so why am I here?" Now the man -Raven- was chuckling, in a way that implied he had dealt with situations like this before, that this was familiar.

"My, my, petulant and insightful at the same time."

Naruto barely suppressed the growl in his throat.

Still looking highly amused, Raven stopped chuckling and settled into the expression that he was wearing when Naruto first saw him; peaceful and content. However, this image was slightly bellied by Raven's next words: "You are dying."

Naruto snorted. "Nobody knows that better than me, pal."

Raven chuckled again. "I suppose so." Instantly dropping his smile along with all of his previous cheerfulness, he continued. "You are dying, but I can save you."

Naruto growled again. "And let me guess; the only thing that this will cost me is my soul?"

He was taken aback when Raven laughed loudly, before giving him an amused stare.

"Now how would I take your soul? Come to think of it, what would I _do _with your soul when I had it?"

Now feeling oddly embarrassed, Naruto snapped, "Would you please stop playing games and tell me?"

Smiling one last time, Raven apparently decided to start explaining.

"As I said, you are dying, and I can help. I have been watching you for a very long time, and have decided that at this point, I should Intervene. While I can heal you, I cannot send you back to your dimensional plane, but I can send you to another that will soon desperately need your help." Pausing at Naruto's blank look, Raven sighed. "I don't suppose I'm being very clear, am I?"

Smiling once more as Naruto silently shook his head, Raven started again. "I told you earlier that some call me 'the Outsider;' well, I can tell you now that is not just for the sake of being dramatic. I do not exist in the same way the you do. My existence is outside of linear space-time, in a dimension that is completely separate from any other. Within this separate dimension, I can observe others, as I have yours, or more specifically you. However, the only time I can actually interact with others is when they are very close to death, like you are now. I have been greatly impressed with what I have seen, and after witnessing what would have been your final sacrifice, I decided that you deserved another chance."

Most of this explanation still went right over Naruto's head, but he was able to get the gist of it. "What happens if I refuse?"

Raven shrugged. "Then you die, and move on to whatever it is that awaits us after death."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto decided to ask about something Raven had said that had caught his interest. "You mentioned a place that would "need my help," what did you mean by that?"

Raven sombered once more. "There is a world I have been watching that is in a situation very similar to what your world has just been through, that you have just ended. In this world, people can manipulate the elements in a way that is similar to your people and your jutsu, only hand seals are not needed their control is infinitely more...precise than yours, in addition to having more advanced technology. In this world, a man with ambitions like your Madara's is planning to seize power. He is building an army, he is creating weapons, he is training soldiers. While the Avatar, the master of all four elements, may be able to stop him, she is in no way ready for a fight like this. And if something does not change, if something is not done, she will fail. This is why I have called for you. I believe that you have the skills necessary to help the Avatar realize her potential before it is too late. More than that, I believe that you are the only one who can help her. The choice is yours, Naruto Uzumaki."

Pausing for a bit, Naruto desperately tried to wrap his head around what was going on. An unknown period of time before, he had been certain that he was going to die. Now, he was in another...place being asked by a...person to go to a completely different world to help people he had never even met to fight against a man he didn't know. Okay, aside from the first part, that was pretty much Naruto's situation before he "died." Still, apparently the only alternative was death, and if this really would let him live, and he didn't take it, then he would be quitting, and Naruto Uzumaki was _not_ a quitter. Still, he wasn't going to go into this thing _completely _blind.

"What would happen to me if I accepted?"

Smiling broadly, Raven replied, "Obviously, you would be going to a world with a culture and language that you would be completely unfamiliar with, but at the very least I can help you with that. In addition, I have been able to restore a small quarter of your full power, but could do no more, so while you will still be able to use all of your techniques with the perhaps a better level of control, you will not be able to do so as casually as before, you will have to conserve your chakra during a fight.

"As for what to do once you get there, simply find the Avatar, and do what you can to help prepare her."

"That's it?" Again that same infuriating smirk. "I said it would be simple, not easy."

"And what do I say when people ask me where I came from?" Raven smirked again, and Naruto felt that he had fully prepared for this already. "Say what you will, but I highly doubt many people would believe the truth." The man was definitely hiding something, but Naruto hadn't the slightest hint as to what, and was getting the feeling that any further questions about it wouldn't help. "Besides, once this is done, the only time you'll ever see me again would be if you do something incredibly stupid."

Steeling his face, Naruto made sure to look Raven straight in his glowing eyes and said, as clearly as possible, "So what do I do now?"

With a genuine smile, Raven held out his hand, as if to shake it. As he held it out, the hand began to glow, and began crackling with energy, to the point where it appeared as if lighting the same color as Raven's eyes was dancing across it. "Just take my hand, and I will do the rest."

Naruto didn't hesitate, doing just as he was told.

Suddenly, the darkness was replaced with a bright, blinding light, and Naruto heard a sudden roar as his world began spinning. Closing his eyes against the light, Naruto could do little more than prepare for whatever it was that would be waiting for him in this new world.

He was not prepared to land face-first in a large body of water.

000

He was so tired. Whatever it was that Raven had done to him had left him feeling completely drained. He was so exhausted, he didn't have enough energy to even try to swim for the rapidly vanishing surface. Just perfect; he had made what looked to be the biggest choice of his life, only to die a few seconds later. The irony absolutely killed him.

The next thing Naruto knew, an arm was grabbing his shoulder, and then the arm was wrapped around him in a tight embrace, and he could feel himself moving up, toward the surface. Seconds before it was broken though, Naruto blacked out.

When he opened his eyes again, he was laying down on solid ground, and he could hear the sound of people talking all around him.

"Hey, are you okay?" Naruto heard, and he glanced up to where the voice had come from.

Naruto saw the face of a young woman, who seemed to be kneeling over his body to talk to him. Naruto was rapidly losing consciousness, but he could see that she had brown hair which he now realized was soaked.

"Are you okay?"

Staring into her concerned blue eyes.

_Beautiful._

Then his eyes closed, and he slipped into darkness.

000

_**Author's Note: Hello, readers, and welcome to my first ever fanfic! I've been a long time reader, and have had a few story ideas floating around in my head, but this has been the first time I've ever actually followed through with any of them, and I am petrified. Ha. **_

_**Few things about this fic, I know that it may seem OOC for Naruto to just accept something like this without thinking about his friends, but as I pointed out, he was prepared for death, so I would hope this could be one small lapse. Second, yes, in the Naruto world, the main villain is Madara, not Tobi. This is because I had planned the opener of this story before the whole Madara/Tobi plot was introduced, and it won't have that much of an impact on this story if it weren't included. **_

_**IMPORTANT: While Naruto's story will be (mostly) cannon, the Legend of Korra universe WILL BE AU. Consider yourself warned.**_

_**Timeline wise this fic takes place somewhere around episode 4 in the Legend of Korra.**_


	2. Arrival

**Disclaimers: See part 1**

_Well, first of all, thank you for all the hits, favorites, and trackings, I'm glad that you all have taken an interest in this fic. First, I'd like to answer a few questions that I received from reviews; No, Naruto will not be learning any form of bending, and Korra will not learn any Jutsu. However... well, I'll just let you people see for yourselves. And just a quick note, paragraph five is INTENIONALLY written that way, just try and bear with it. _

_Edit, 12/24/12: The first chapter and the first interlude have been combined into one._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Arrival**

_All around her was chaos. She had been in her share of fights before, but she had _never _seen anything like this. Nothing she had experienced could ever equal the sheer scale and brutality of the carnage taking place before her eyes._

_She was standing (floating?) over a broad, rocky plain, under a sky filled with stars and a full moon in the distance. On this plain were two great forces, both of which were trying their hardest to kill each other. Through all the chaos happening around her, she was still able to at least clearly identify two different groups among the horde. One group was wearing what appeared to be some sort of uniform, consisting of red clouds against a black background. However, there were many different styles to this uniform; some wore the clouds on their jackets, others on some sort of cloaks, a few even wearing black robes that covered their entire bodies. The other group didn't seem to have any of the conformity of the first one. They had no obvious uniform, each of them wearing what seemed to be their own personal preferences, although some groups wore an odd-looking jacket over their chosen wears. However, she could identify some similar symbols that she couldn't recognize on many of their headbands. _

_They clearly had some kind of ability to manipulate the elements like she did, but the techniques they used were like nothing she had ever seen before. She certainly wouldn't call them 'bending.' For one, it seemed as if every time one of their abilities was used, the person using them had to create a series of odd formations with their hands. Second, after each hand formation was completed, the user always shouted out what she guessed was the name of the technique they were using. It seemed somewhat slow to her, but the effectiveness of whatever they were doing was soon made plain to see._

_The first technique she saw stunned her; one of the fighters actually blew _fire _out his mouth! To her chagrin, her first thought after witnessing this was _"I have _got_ to learn how to do that!" _However, her previous amazement soon turned to horror as she understood the intent of the attack as it incinerated its target. _

_Looking over the plain, she saw countless other techniques, some used for defense, others for offense, but all possessing the same ultimately deadly consequences. She saw a man slam his fist into the earth, forming massive spikes around him that pulverized any poor soul that was unfortunate enough to get in their way. There was another a woman who surrounded her entire fist with lighting in the split-second before her punch contacted with her opponent's chest and another man hurling some kind of knife she had never seen before with a piece of paper attached to it before the knife seemed to explode in the center of a large group of cloud-robed men and yet another man who seemed to created an giant ball of water in the air before releasing it and snap-freezing the falling water droplets into countless thousands of needles made of ice where they slashed their targets to ribbons and everyone else was using a knife or a sword or some kind of blade or even their bare fist to utterly destroy their enemies but the red-clouded horde just kept on coming..._

_Suddenly, she was focused on something else, a small six-member squad of men and women standing on a ledge that overlooked the fighting. They were all dressed in dark clothes and wearing masks that clearly represented some type of animal, but like no animals that she had ever seen. In the lead and obviously in charge was a man dressed in black, wearing a mask that reminded her of a Polar Bear-Dog, and at his side was a woman dressed in dark purple wearing a mask that was completely faceless, no mouth, no nose, no edges, not even any eyes. She appeared to be scanning for something._

_While this group was at a relatively safe distance from the worst of the fighting, they were in no way safe from it, but every single member of this group stood with an air of absolute confidence, as if they simply didn't notice or didn't care about the carnage happening around them._

_"Well," dryly stated the man in charge, "I think we can safely say we have their attention." _

_One of the men in the back heaved an over-dramatic sigh and said, "It's going to one of those nights, isn't it?" The leader's response was a simple, "Imagine so." _

_"You know," said one of the women, almost casually, "I wonder what the actual odds of any of us surviving this are." _

_"Well let's see, let me do the math," said another man, "Uh, 3 percent of nothing, carry the nothing, multiplied by nothing is, ah..."_

_The final man seemed to glance blankly between the other five members before saying, "I really need some new people in my life."_

_"Captain," This was from the last member of the squad, who appeared to be the second-in-command, "I have determined the approximate number of Akatsuki forces on their way."_

_"Alright, Hyuuga, lay it on me." Replied the captain, as casually as if he were talking about the weather. _

_"There are reinforcements coming from the south and from the northwest. Based on a cursory glance, I would say they outnumber us by 5-to-2." _

_"Five-to-two?" The captain repeated, now sounding curious. "Yes." _

_"So this would be the bulk of their forces?" _

_"Yes."_

_The captain's mask did nothing to hide the savage grin on his face. "Perfect." _

_Turning to the rest of the squad, heedless of the fighting that was now taking place behind his back, the captain addressed the rest of his squad, "Alright, people, it looks like the diversion really _has_ worked, now we just have to make sure it keeps working. You know what to do." _

_Turning back to face the combat, the captain then seemed to leap from the top of the ledge, landing on the slope in a dead run, the other five squad members quickly following him, charging headlong into the fray..._

_The scene changed again, and this time she found herself standing/floating over some kind of valley that was directly underneath the full moon and covered in snow. In the center of this valley, she saw two people. _

_They were clearly facing off against each other, she could recognize that much, and from the looks of their clothes and the damaged environment around them, she would guess that they had been fighting for quite a while._

_One of the men was wearing the same red-cloud cloak she had seen others wearing at the plain, though on him it somehow looked different. His face was covered by one of the weirdest masks she had ever seen, an orange-swirl pattern that only revealed his right eye. To her shock, she saw that the eye was glowing a fierce, demonic red. _

_The other figure she saw was a marked contrast with blonde hair, wearing black pants, a black shirt with dark orange trimming, and what appeared to be a...cape._ Awesome!

_And then, in an instant, the two men disappeared and met in the middle of the valley, colliding into each other with such force that the entire valley seemed to shake from the impact. They traded a countless number of blows in seconds, sounding like massive thunder booms exploding in sequence as they danced around the valley. She was mesmerized watching them; she had never even imagined that a human being could move as _fast_ as these two men were. _

_Eventually, they both reappeared in the same positions they were in when she first saw them, both ever-so slightly out of breath. With a jolt, she realized that the blonde couldn't be much older than she was, she may even be slightly older. The blonde was clearly not gaining much ground in the fight, but his eyes had a hardened steel within them that she had only seen in a small handful of people before._

_The man in the mask chuckled, before speaking in a mocking tone that was clearly meant to incite the blonde, "Well, boy, I'm impressed. No one has ever managed to last this long against me before. But I believe it is time we finished this."_

_The blonde responded with a smirk, before replying in the same tone as the squad captain she had seen earlier, "You know, I was thinking the exact same thing..." _

_Now both men were glowing, their clothes torn and bloody, both looking like they were charging their final attacks. The masked man was glowing red, emitting an aura of menace that would have had her trembling in fear if she were actually physically present. _

_The blonde, on the other hand, was glowing a pure blue-white. And then, the glow around him stopped, and she could see _something _beginning to form in the boy's right hand. Slowly it began to take shape, forming into a large blue-white orb that was five times larger than his hand. Suddenly the boy exploded with red energy, surrounding him in an aura that absolutely radiated power. Then, the red energy seemed to merge with the blue energy in the boy's hand, condensing and shrinking, until it was no larger than his palm. Now the orb was a deep violet, and it was so bright that it seemed to illuminate the entire valley._

_She saw the boy's lips move, but whatever he said was lost to the masked man's howl of rage._

_Now both fighters charged each other again for what they both knew would be the final time, but the blonde was just a little bit faster than his opponent, the bright violet orb in his hand approaching the masked man's chest faster than he would be able to evade..._

_Now she was somewhere completely different, somewhere familiar, and she realized that she was now above the Aang Memorial Island, again under the full moon. Looking up at the sky, her eyes widened as she saw someone falling. A heartbeat later, she realized that it was the same blonde as before, and she screamed as she saw his body collide with the water..._

_Now she was surrounded by total darkness, unable to see anything at all. Before she could begin to panic, she saw a pair of golden-yellow glows, having just enough time to realize that they were _eyes, _before she heard a whispered plea, "Please, save him..." _

Jolting up in her bed with a shout, she glanced around wildly before realizing that she was in the safety of her room. Panting, she glanced out her window to the crescent moon shining clearly in the night sky over Republic City.

Finally calming down, Korra could only stare at the scene before her and mutter, "What in La's name was _that?_"

000

Korra sent out another stream of fire, but still her enemy dodged. Like he had the first hundred times. Although she was initially surprised when Amon accepted her challenge, now Korra felt anger and frustration; the bastard had been _toying _with her the entire time!

No matter what she did, no matter how furious her attacks of earth, water, or fire, Amon dodged or blocked every single one of them like he wasn't even trying! He had been in complete control of the fight since the very beginning. She was the _Avatar,_ the spirits' chosen one, and she couldn't even _touch_ him!

Korra felt her breath knocked out of her as Amon landed a vicious kick directly into her stomach, slamming her into one of the pillars of the Temple.

Rising, placing her hand on the pillar to support herself, Korra glared hatefully at the man standing calmly in front of her.

"I honestly expected better of you, Avatar," Amon started. "_This_ is the spirits' champion, the one person in the world capable of mastering all four elements?" Korra growled deeply. Shaking his head almost sadly, Amon continued, "You are only a child, a child who has no place in this fight, how could the people of this city, this world, place their hopes' on someone like _you_?" Despite his mocking words, Amon sounded genuinely curious, as if he honestly could not wrap his head around the concept.

That did it. Korra felt something snap inside her, and for a fleeting instant she remembered standing within the crowd at Amon's Revelation, watching in petrified shock as Amon challenged some of the most dangerous and most powerful criminal benders in Republic City in hand-to-hand combat, defeating and killing them all within a matter of minutes, and then proudly proclaiming to the roaring crowd that justice had been served, that _he_ and his Equalists would accomplish what the Avatar and Republic City's government never could.

Screaming in rage, Korra charged, her minor injuries forgotten as she felt a surge of adrenaline course through her body. Using only firebending this time, her attacks were harder and came faster than she had ever managed in her life, but still Amon evaded them all, focusing on her a little more intently than he had before, but having no difficulty as he did so.

Bringing back her left arm and launching what would have been a crippling hammer strike, Korra's eyes widened as Amon grabbed her arm in mid-punch before using her own momentum to swing her around and hurl her into the wall, so hard that her impact caused the stone to crack slightly.

Leaning again against the wall to support herself as she struggled to regain her energy, Korra found herself asking in a daze, "What _are _you?" Whatever Amon was, there was simply no way that he was an ordinary human.

He paused, and to Korra's surprise, actually answered her. "I am your reckoning."

There was nothing but conviction in his voice, and Korra knew then that whatever his response would be, Amon believed it to the very core of his being. "I am the end of the shackles of the old world, and the harbinger of a brilliant new beginning. With the Equalists at my side, I will bring true justice into this world, the kind that you could only imagine. We will save this world."

Korra honestly didn't care what the man was spewing, but she was able to use the time that he was giving her to recover and attempt to come up with some kind of plan. As she glared at her enemy, she caught sight of the full moon hanging above him, and her mind flashed back to that bizarre dream that she had experienced during her first days in Republic City. As the images raced before her eyes, a thought occurred to her, and she felt a smirk spread upon her face. It was rather desperate, she would admit, and she wasn't even sure that it would work, but if she could at least catch Amon off-guard, she might be able to turn the fight around in her favor.

Rising to her feet, Korra roared and charged Amon again, only this time she did not use any bending, instead sticking to basic hand-to hand-combat techniques that Tenzin and Tarrlock's men had been teaching her recently. Korra could tell by his body language that she had raised Amon's interest with her different tactics, but she knew that she could never hope to defeat him without using her bending. That was fine; she only needed a few precious seconds to carry out her plan. _Now!_

For the briefest instant, she saw her chance, and threw a punch with all her strength behind it at Amon's right shoulder. Amon saw what she was doing, and shifted his body and lifted his right hand to intercept her own, and Korra knew that her desperate plan had worked.

In the heartbeat before Amon caught her fist with his hand, Korra reached deep within herself and called upon her inner flame, more focused and more desperate and determined than she ever had before, and just as his open hand caught her, a small, condensed flame surrounded her fist, before blasting outwards and engulfing Amon's hand completely.

Amon howled in a mixture of shock and pain, releasing her hand and lashing out with a high kick that forced Korra to dodge away, and now both fighters were standing a few feet away from each other, both panting heavily, trying to catch their breath. Korra found it difficult to believe that all of this had only happened in a few seconds.

Taking a glance the hand she hit, Korra felt a sense of satisfaction as she observed the damage she had caused. Amon's right hand was a wreck; while he had been wearing a lightly armored glove over both his hands, he clearly hadn't been expecting an attack like hers when he had gotten them. Korra couldn't tell what shape Amon's hand was in, but the glove covering it was heavily singed, to the point that the armor was almost _gone_. No matter how much damage the glove had been able to protect it from, his hand was now crippled, out of this fight. True, Amon could probably heal easily if he had a moderately skilled waterbender, but for the moment, the odds had shifted to her advantage. Just one more hit like that, and Amon would be finished. _M__aybe not lighting, but still damn effective._

Amon seemed to realize this as well, and he lost some of his composure as he growled slightly, "What was that?"

Smirking at _finally_ managing to get in a hit of her own, Korra decided to attempt to see if she could aggravate him further. "That was the start of _your_ reckoning."

Korra could almost see Amon gritting his teeth at her response, before righting himself and shifting his weight to favor his left hand, "I must admit that I'm impressed, Avatar, no one has ever managed to get the better of me like that, but that attack will never work again."

Still smirking, Korra said nothing as she readied herself, taking a stance to launch another fire blast. That last attack had exhausted her, and she only had a small amount of energy left. Korra wasn't done yet by any means, but she knew that the fight would be decided soon, and she was determined to strike first.

Lashing her fists out, Korra sent wave after wave of fireballs towards Amon, who still dodged as best he could, but was now hindered because his crippled arm was throwing off his balance. Launching one more before preparing to put some more distance between the two of them and use her earthbending, Korra paused briefly as Amon didn't dodge as she had expected, but instead pulled out a short blade that he had hidden beneath his cloak, and slashed through the dead center of the fireball, dispersing it, before launching himself at her. He was moving far too fast for her to dodge or defend against, and as she saw the silver glinting in the moonlight, Korra knew that she had lost.

But before Amon's outstretched blade could reach her, Korra saw two small cable lines intercept it, colliding with the blade and knocking it out of Amon's hands while he was still charging at her, before he dodged them and ground to a halt, and both of them turned to face the newcomers who had interfered.

Korra's eyes widened as she saw Councilman Tarrlok standing at the entrance to the temple, a full squad of his special forces spread out around him, all on their guard and ready to attack Amon at a moment's notice.

"I thought I said that I would handle this alone." Oh, wow, that was seriously the first thing she said to the people that had more than likely just saved her life? She most have been more affected by the fight than she thought.

Tarrlok merely gave her a bemused glance and replied, "Good to see you, too, Avatar," before turning his focus back on Amon.

Staring calmly at the new threat, Amon appeared to consider his options for a short moment, then stated casually, "I believe she has a point, Councilman."

Tarrlok merely snorted before dryly retorting, "Sending her to take on the leader of a terrorist group by herself? I may have a great deal of respect for the Avatar, but I'm not stupid. We have been watching you the entire time; I merely felt that it would be best not to interfere unless the Avatar's life was in danger and she could not do anything about it."

Korra felt a brief flash of irritation at that last bit, but at this point, she was struggling to stay on her feet, so she wasn't able to say anything in response.

For some reason, as she looked over at Amon, she got the impression that he was smirking behind his mask.

"I must congratulate you, Councilman; I did not expect you to act with such efficiency. But the people you have brought with you will not be enough to stop me."

Tarrlok's eyes narrowed at this, as he asked calmly, "What do you mean by that?"

Amon was definitely smirking now, and he replied, "You didn't honestly believe I came here alone, did you?"

At some unseen signal, the ground around Amon's feet began to shift, creating a strong barrier between him and his opponents. While some of the members of the Task Force were quick enough to launch a few attacks against him, none of them were able to reach Amon before the barrier was formed, bouncing off the solid rock harmlessly.

Then, a cable lift descended down onto the edge of the Island, suspended by an Equalist airship. Amon, with an Equalist earthbender who had apparently hidden himself underground and was now standing beside him, quickly jumped over to one side of the foot lift and waiting briefly for the earthbender to take his place on the other side, covering their escape the entire way.

Before the airship drifted away, Amon paused to give Korra one last haunting stare, as if to say _This isn't over, _before disappearing from sight.

"Korra!" At the sound of someone calling her name, Korra wearily turned her head to see Tenzin rushing towards her, Chief Beifong at his side.

Feeling her heart explode with relief at the sight of Tenzin, Korra collapsed, feeling Tenzin catch her in his arms before she hit the ground, as she distantly heard Tarrlok order his men to return to their headquarters.

"Korra, are you alright?" At Tenzin's question, Korra only nodded, before saying, "I'm glad you're here, Tenzin."

Smiling down at her, Tenzin replied, "So am I."

At that point, Chief Beifong was at their side, looking down at her with what Korra would later swear looked like concern, and then asking what had happened.

At her question, Tenzin's gaze grew more concerned until he finally said, "That's a good question, Korra, what _did _happen?"

In response, Korra only smiled and said, "I didn't lose."

Now she could see both Tenzin and Chief Beifong becoming irritated, and Beifong's eyebrow was twitching slightly, as Tenzin said, "Listen, Korra, we have to know-"

Whatever Tenzin was about to say was lost as the night sky suddenly seemed to explode with a bright golden light.

000

While the others all gaped at the sight, Korra could feel something happening to her. Where moments before she had been exhausted, now she felt a sudden rush of energy pouring through her body. As the light grew brighter, she could feel more energy building within herself.

As the light started to die down, Korra could hear the Chief and the Tarrlok barking orders, but she was focused on what was left behind. There, falling in the sky from where the center of the light used to be, she could just barely make out a human body!

Now she heard a voice roaring in the back of her head, _"PLEASE, SAVE HIM!" _

Without thought, she charged to the edge of the island, totally heedless of Tenzin calling after her, and leapt off the edge into the ocean below.

As she broke through the water, she used her waterbending to propel herself forward at fantastic speeds, desperately hoping that she would reach the person falling before they got too far away.

Eventually, she felt a crash in the surface of the water above her, and knew immediately that the person had fallen through. Doubling her efforts, Korra pushed herself to speeds that she didn't think possible, and a short time later she saw a man's body sinking into the ocean.

Slowing her speed and moving so that she was now alongside him, Korra reached out with one arm and wrapped it around his shoulders, before thrusting her other arm out and blasting back towards the Memorial Temple.

After a few moments, she reached the docks next to the Temple, her passenger in tow.

"Korra, what happened!" Hearing Tenzin coming up to her, Korra glanced up at him briefly before returning her attention to the young man that she had rescued.

Once she did, Korra had to fight the urge to gasp in shock; it was the same blonde as the one in her dream! Same hair, same headband, the same clothes -although they had been heavily damaged, she noted with a slight blush.

"Who is that?" At Tenzin's question, Korra shook her head and said, "I don't know."

Glancing down at her with a raised eyebrow Tenzin asked, "How did you know he where he was?" To which Korra shook her head again and repeated, "I don't know."

Hearing a noise next to her, Korra turned back to the boy and saw that he was starting to wake up, his eyes beginning to open.

"Hey, are you okay?" Perhaps an obvious question, but Korra honestly couldn't think of anything else to say.

Leaning forward, Korra saw the boy's eyes open slightly, and had to fight back another gasp as she found herself staring into the bluest eyes that she had ever seen.

"Are you okay?" The boy seemed about to say something, but then his eyes closed shut, and he was out cold.

Refocusing again, Korra could hear Tenzin calling for an emergency transport to the Air Temple.

"Tenzin," she called, and when he was focused on her she said, "Make it two," before collapsing and letting the darkness take her.


	3. Interlude

Interlude 1: Aftermath

**Yes, this one's a bit short. This is more of a 'set-up chapter', (but it's still important!).**

Although Tenzin's face was as calm as always, Korra still couldn't help fidgeting from her spot on the floor in the Air Temple. Then again, maybe she was uncomfortable because Chief Beifong seemed to be trying to set her on fire with her eyes.

Tarrlok, frowning heavily and lost in thought, wasn't helping either.

"You saw him in a dream." This was from Beifong, though it sounded more like a statement than a question, and the woman clearly didn't believe her.

"Hey, I don't know what it was either." Korra replied testily, starting to get irritated at be treated like a criminal for saving someone's life.

After she had collapsed, Korra awoke to find herself lying on her bed, the bright sunlight shining through her window indicating that she had been out for some time.

Before she could fully get her bearings, Chief Beifong, who was apparently waiting for her to wake up outside her room, marched in and told her to get dressed and head over to the main floor, where they would discuss what had happened the other night.

She had stopped in her tracks for a moment when she saw Tarrlok sitting there as well, legs crossed as if he was meditating, but quickly recovered and took her place in the middle of the room.

Once Tenzin had asked her how she had known that the boy she had rescued would be there, Korra had just blurted out that she had seen him in her dream, and then paused, just realizing how ridiculous she probably sounded.

Fortunately, being Avatar Aang's son, Tenzin was not so quick to dismiss what she had told them.

"Would you please explain, Korra?" He asked, ignoring the 'are you insane' looks that Beifong and Tarrlok sent him.

Relaxing a little under the older man's patient gaze, Korra took a small breath and began.

"Well, you see, I had this really weird dream around week that I first came here..." And so, Korra explained her dream in full, having to resist the urge to shudder as she recounted the initial carnage of what could only have been some kind of war, then becoming a little more enthusiastic as she described the epic battle between the blonde and the man in the mask, and finally haltingly told of her experience in that lightless void, seeing the glowing eyes, and finally the desperate plea that she had heard again after her fight with Amon.

There was a long silence after she was finished, and Korra had the distinct impression that Beifong thought that she should be placed in the nearest mental asylum, and Tarrlok still seemed to be focused on something else entirely. However, it was Tenzin's reaction that was the most unexpected. Almost as soon as she got to the part where she saw the glowing eyes, Tenzin had gone completely white, grabbing the tea cup that he had been holding so tightly that Korra was actually worried that he would break it.

The others had noticed as well, and Beifong softened slightly as she saw the effect Korra's story had had on her childhood friend.

"Is something wrong, Tenzin?" The question seemed to snap him out of whatever daze he was in, and Tenzin shook himself slightly before replying, "No, nothing at all."

No one in the room believed him; that reaction had certainly not been 'nothing,' but they all knew from first-hand experience just how _stubborn_ Tenzin could be when he wanted to, so they all decided to let it slide for the time being.

Wanting to change the subject and break the somewhat awkward silence, Korra asked, "How is he?" And all those in the room immediately knew she was asking about the boy she had rescued.

"The boy is fine, Pema's watching over him now, she'll let us know if anything changes." Now Tenzin seemed to have fully recovered from his previous shock.

"Are you sure? He was in pretty bad shape when I last saw him." While the boy only had a few small cuts and bruises, with no major injuries, the state of his clothes told a different story.

"That's the odd part, Korra. He did have a few relatively minor injuries when you pulled him ashore, but by the time we had brought him here, they had almost completely healed!"

Korra felt her jaw go slack, and as she glanced over at Beifong and Tarrlok -noting that neither of them were smiling, so this was not a joke- she found herself at a loss for words. After a few moments of opening and closing her mouth, she finally remembered how to speak properly again.

"But...h-how is that possible?"

"We have no idea." Well, Tarrlok had finally spoken up, and it seemed he had decided to be just as blunt and unhelpful as ever.

"At any rate, we won't be able to learn anything more until our guest wakes up, so perhaps you should get going, Korra."

Korra felt her jaw almost go slack again, and couldn't restrain herself from shouting, "I should _what!"_

"W-W-well, don't you have that pro-bending...thing to attend tonight?"

That stopped her short; Tenzin _did_ have a point. Tonight was the pro-bending semi-final round, and knowing how important it was to Mako and Bolin, Korra couldn't just back out of it, even for something like this. Though she was honestly surprised that Tenzin remembered, since he made his feelings for the sport very clear.

Before Korra answered, she sent one last glance to Beifong and Tarrlok; they were both glaring at Tenzin suspiciously, while he was trying -and failing- to act like he didn't notice. Well, even if _she _left, Korra knew that there was no way those two would leave before they got some answers.

"Fine," she said, before getting up to leave. Before she left the door, she caught sight of the shocked looks on each of their faces out of the corner of her eye, and Korra decided right then and there that it was worth it.

000

Although on the outside he was calm -or at least, he hoped he was- on the inside, Tenzin's thoughts were racing, and he felt a cold chill running through him.

'Glowing eyes the color of gold, shining through the purest darkness.' It couldn't be! Why on Earth would a being like _him_ reach out to someone like Korra?

The last person who had encountered _him_ had been...

Calming himself so he wouldn't make Lin and Tarrlok even _more_ suspicious than they already were, Tenzin decided to broach another subject, privately grateful that Korra had agreed to leave for her match, though still slightly worried that she had agreed so quickly. At least now he would only have to deal with Lin and Tarrlok.

"Tarrlok, what did you make of Korra's fight the other night?" While the councilman was a civilian, he was still a highly skilled bender, and he had seen more of the duel than either Lin or himself.

Now, Tarrlok smirked slightly, looking impressed despite himself.

"Korra held herself together very well. Her bending was as skilled as I would have thought, considering her training, but I was still impressed with her adaptability and her improvisation."

Raising an eyebrow in interest, Tenzin silently waited for Tarrlok to elaborate.

Sensing the unasked question, Tarrlok started to explain what he had seen from his vantage point in the shadows.

By the end, Tenzin had raised both eyebrows; it _was_ quite impressive, no matter how one looked at it, and it was a much better strategy then what he would have expected from Korra. While he did care for the young Avatar, strategy was not her forte; she always preferred to tackle all of her challenges head on, usually only considering tactics _after_ they were needed. Lin also looked like she was impressed, although he knew that she would never admit it, before her gaze hardened and turned back to him; and Tenzin knew that he would not get out of this one so easily.

"What do you know about Korra's..._vision_, Tenzin?" The question came out slightly awkwardly; Lin had never placed much stock in the more spiritual side of the world, and usually only spoke of such things when absolutely necessary.

"I am not sure; I will need to consult some scrolls before I can come up with anything definitive."

Neither Lin nor Tarrlok were impressed with his answer, but it was true; he wanted to confirm his suspicions before he told the others of them.

"Look, if I can confirm my theory, I'll tell you two later tonight, okay?"

Lin still wasn't satisfied, but begrudgingly accepted; Tarrlok nodded, now lost in thought again. Tenzin knew that neither of them would be leaving anytime soon - he wouldn't either, in their positions.

As he moved to check on Pema and their guest, Tenzin wondered at what a strange group the three of them made; the stubborn Chief of Security and the best metalbender in the city; the cunning Northern Water Tribe councilman, his devotion to protecting the people of the Republic only matched by his ambition; and himself - calm, methodical, almost always objectively analyzing all variables in a situation before committing himself to a course of action.

They were certainly not what one would expect of those few standing against the Equalists, but it seemed that they would have to make do; in their own way, each of them placed the safety and the security of the citizens and ideals of the United Republic before almost anything else, their cherished friends and families being one of the few exceptions that they all had in common.

Tenzin still did not like Tarrlok; the man was just a little too ambitious, a little too smooth for his liking, but he was finding it difficult to dislike the man as much has he had just the week before, knowing that he had probably saved Korra's life.

Tenzin was pulled from his musings as he saw a flash of orange briefly before it ducked behind the corner, and he felt a small smile tug at his lips; his children were apparently just as stubborn as he was.

All three were asleep when they had brought Korra and the boy back from Aang Memorial Island, but Pema had stayed up, waiting for them. The minute she saw the two teenagers and the condition they were in, she had rushed over to them, launching a series of questions so fast that even Ikki would have been impressed.

After she had been assured that their conditions were stable, and that Korra would likely wake up within the next 24 hours, Pema had all but locked herself in the guest quarters while she tended to the boy. This had of course raised the curiosity of the children once they had woken up, and they hadn't left the subject alone since. While he personally found it rather amusing, he was sure that Pema was nearing her wits' end.

After he had ensured that the boy's condition had not changed in the last few hours, Tenzin kissed his wife on the cheek before heading to his second destination- the Archives. While he was slightly disappointed that he could not attend Korra's match like he had planned, the girl wasn't really expecting him to anyway, and after his reaction when he had heard about her vision -for it could be nothing else- Tenzin was certain that even she now had an idea about just how serious this situation was.

Especially serious, if he was right.

Now in the Temple Archives, Tenzin examined the scroll that he needed, and it confirmed what he had feared; the boy had indeed been brought here by the Outsider, and that meant that something _big_ was coming.

After all, the last person that had encountered the Outsider -and returned to tell the tale- had been his father.

000

Behind his ever-present mask, the man known to the world as Amon grit his teeth as Mei, one of his best waterbenders, ran a layer of glowing water over the burn he had received from his encounter with the Avatar a short while ago.

It wasn't the pain that bothered him; it would fade soon enough, and even if it would never heal, he could bear it. He was too familiar with pain to do anything else. No, what was irking him at the moment was his recollection of the fight, and how unbelievably poorly he had handled it.

He should not have given in to his damned honor and fought the Avatar one-on-one; he should have brought his men with him, ambushed her with overwhelming force, and pierced her heart. Perhaps the councilman and his task force would have been able to save her, but the Avatar would have sustained more serious injuries, taking her out of the equation if only for a short while, or at the very least have her confidence shaken, perhaps even become hesitant to engage him again.

But now, she knew that he could be pushed back, that she could damage him, and unless the girl was an absolute fool, she would not forget that.

Running over his declaration as the Avatar had caught her breath in his mind, Amon barely restrained the growl forcing its way up his throat. He had been sloppy; he should have finished it right then and there, while she was weak and unable to fight back.

Instead, he had indulged her, proclaiming his "motivations" as if he were giving a speech at one of his rallies; while those _were_ some of the reasons that he was fighting, the situation was a great deal more complex, far more complicated than the Avatar could understand.

He had not been lying when he had first spoken to her either; the Avatar, one of the greatest obstacles to mission of the Equalists, the most vital fighter in the Republic, was only a _child_, far too young to be involved in a conflict such as this, to be forced -as she inevitably would be- to take the life of another human being.

He was broken from his thoughts as Mei, finished healing the burn on his hand, rose and stood at attention, awaiting his next command.

"Leave," he ordered, and Mei gave a quick bow and left his personal quarters, closing the door behind her.

Now in solitude, Amon's thoughts turned to what he intended to do next, now that the Avatar had proven to be a much more challenging opponent than he would have thought. He was also furious with himself of underestimating her, for falling into the trap that he had sworn he would avoid at all costs. He could only be thankful that his stupidity had only damaged his pride and little else.

Despite the disaster that the other night had become, his ultimate goal for the time being had not changed; one way or another, the Avatar would die.

Amon knew full well that once the current incarnation of the Avatar died, she would simply be reborn into the Earth Kingdom; but by the time the next Avatar would be old enough to pose a threat, or even begin to learn their abilities, it would be far too late.

Even now, a small part of him was screaming that this was wrong, that he should not be planning to take the life of someone so young, but he ruthlessly silenced it. This was not the time for sentimentality, and the world could not afford such weakness. Time was running out.

Besides, even if he was not pressed for time, the Avatar was now his enemy, and Amon was obligated to treat her as such.

He would need to assume a more aggressive strategy; his enemies would now be certain that he would wait for a time, to rally his forces and prepare a new assault. But the Equalists had larger numbers than any of his enemies knew, and they had been preparing for a long time, only waiting for the Avatar's arrival to Republic City. Now was the time to strike. The only question was where, and Amon already had a goal in mind.

Tonight was the night of the pro-bending semi-finals, and next week would be the final match. While the arena presented a _very_ tempting target, for now he would have to focus elsewhere. An assault on the arena now would only lead to massive civilian casualties. While he was not at all concerned about something so trivial, Amon knew that such an assault would only incite further resentment against them, and the Equalists needed more solid footing before they could do something so bold.

Instead, he would strike at a quieter target, someplace out of the way, out of the public view. That this target also housed one of his most powerful enemies was just a bonus.

The attack would have to be carried out in absolute secret, conducted in such a way that, at first, nobody would have any idea that the Equalists had been behind it- possibly even believe that it had been from another group all together, and waste their time and efforts chasing a dead end.

With these criteria in mind, Amon knew exactly who to place in charge of the mission; a man who was renowned not only for his tactical mind, but also for his ruthlessness, his brutal skill in earthbending, and for his determination to see a mission through to the end, no matter the cost.

His decision made, Amon turned to the phone on his desk, dialing the number of Lieutenant Taro, one of his most trusted subordinates, to issue his orders.

The Equalists had been preparing themselves for a decade, training in secret, gathering their forces, developing their technology and weapons of war, and now their time had come.

Once he heard Taro answer, Amon said a single word, "Begin."

After he heard the Lieutenant's affirmative, Amon hung up the phone, walked to the center of his quarters, and assumed the Lotus position as he began to meditate.


	4. Naruto's Awakening

**Disclaimer: I don't own **_**Naruto **_**or **_**Korra**_**, and make no profit from writing this.**

**Well, here it is. The last three chapters could be considered either setting the scene or build -up, and **_**this **_**is where the story really begins. Naruto finally wakes up! This is also the first extended action sequence I've ever written, so I'm not sure how well it turned out, but I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Chapter 3: Naruto's Awakening**

The Air Temple burned tonight. The mission itself was relatively simple- sneak their way onto the island, infiltrate the Temple, kill everyone inside, and then burn the entire compound to rubble. Taro was especially looking forward to that third part; it had been far too long since he had been able to cut loose.

He understood the purpose of the mission, of course. They couldn't simply have all of their firebenders attack the Temple at once. No, their job was to use multiple different assault styles, to spread confusion amongst whoever it was that eventually investigated the attack, so that they would spend valuable time scrambling to learn who was responsible.

Lieutenant Taro, one of the strongest earthbenders alive, and _the_ strongest earthbender in the Equalists, was a giant of a man, standing at well over six feet, and weighing in at close to two hundred pounds -all muscle, and coupled with his midnight black hair and earthbender green eyes, Taro was an incredibly intimidating man. And he was going to accomplish his mission with only seven other men.

While others would have brought at least twice as many as Taro was, these were some of the very best, and three benders and four Chi-blockers would be more than a match for the token White Lotus security force and one lone airbender, even if he was a master.

They had completed reconnaissance of the area last week, gathering Intel about the strength of any possible opposition that they would encounter, as well as the numbers that they could expect. If anything, the eight-man squad was overkill.

According to the latest reports, in addition to the master, there were three young airbenders at the Temple as well. They would be the second priority, and he had told his squad to capture them alive if possible, but if they died along with the others, well, that was just too damn bad.

In fact, perhaps they should target the children and the matriarch first- get the master angry, so he would come at them stupid, and _then_ finish him. It was a strategy worth looking into, but only if circumstances and time allowed it.

They had already completed their first objective, covertly landing on the south side of the island in an Equalists ship designed for stealth, and were now observing the two White Lotus guards stationed at the front gate.

Taro gave the signal, and his forces began their infiltration.

Now, Taro gave a vicious smile. This was going to be _fun_.

000

Korra was worried. Really, it wasn't unexpected- the semi-final match would begin in a few moments, and most contestants experienced a few jitters before the game began. But this was something else; it was gnawing at her, a cold chill at the bottom of her stomach, and for some reason, she was starting to regret leaving the Temple.

Bolin and Mako had noticed, of course - how could they not? Korra had never been what one could call subtle, she almost always wore her emotions on her sleeve, and after having spent so much time around the two of them, there was no way they couldn't notice something was up.

In what was probably equal parts concern for his friend and worry about a teammate's performance, Mako had eventually asked her if something was wrong.

She had told them about the boy she had pulled out of the water, leaving out the part about her dream, and while Mako and Bolin were still clearly worried about her, Korra had assured them that it could wait until at least the end of the match.

But now, staring distantly into the cheering crowd in the stands as the announcer started the countdown, Korra still felt that something was very wrong.

000

Feeling like his head would split open, Naruto was starting to regret waking up.

_What the hell was that?_

Whatever it was that Raven had done, it had not been short and it had not been painless, but Naruto supposed that could be counted as a good thing; if he could still feel pain, then he was still alive.

"Ah, you're finally awake," came a woman's voice off to his side, tinged with warmth.

Finally opening his eyes, Naruto rose upright in the bed he was lying on and looked around to see a sparsely decorated room, before turning his attention to the woman who had spoken to him.

He saw a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, with short brown hair and warm amber-colored eyes. She was dressed rather oddly, even by his standards, wearing yellow robes beneath a red sash, what seemed to be some type of uniform.

The woman must have misinterpreted his confusion for fear or caution, because she smiled warmly at him before saying, "It's alright, you're safe. No one will hurt you here." And despite having no clue who this woman before him was, something in her voice made Naruto trust her.

"And where _is _here?" His voice was slightly hoarse from disuse, and the woman gave him a small cup of water she had next to her to drink before she answered.

"You're at Air Temple Island."

_Where?_

Seeing his confusion, she elaborate, "In Republic City."

At Naruto's still blank expression, she tried again, with a bit of hesitation in her voice this time, "In the United Republic of Nations?"

At the answering silence, she asked, "A bit West of the Earth Kingdom, South of the North Pole?"

When Naruto still said nothing, she tried one more time, now clearly getting worried, "It used to be the... Fire Nation?"

Receiving no answer, the woman paused, now realizing that the situation had gotten even more complicated than she thought it was.

"Well, can you tell me where you remember being last?"

Naruto paused at this- he honestly didn't know, he hadn't had the time to learn that accursed valley's name. "I don't know. I never checked."

Sighing- things could never be _simple_, the woman decided to try one last question before completely giving up. "Where are you from, then?" If the boy gave an answer that was at least familiar, then she could work with that.

"Konohagakure."

Drat.

It appeared that she would have to start from scratch.

"Well, my name is Pema, can you tell me yours?"

"... Naruto," he replied, something telling him that it would not be a good idea to announce his surname just yet.

"Well, Naruto, when you were found, you had seemed to have fallen into the water, can you tell me anything about it?"

"The last thing I can remember is this bright light, and then someone carrying me to the shore."

At that, Pema nodded; if nothing else, his story matched up with what Korra and Tenzin had told her, so it seemed that the boy -Naruto- was in the same boat that she was.

"Well," Pema started, "My husband asked me to tell him when you were awake; he has some questions for you. While I'm gone, feel free to change if you feel up to it."

It was then that Naruto noticed that he was completely naked, except for his boxers, and that there was a set of clothes laid out on the bed beside him.

Flushing in embarrassment, Naruto could do little more than nod silently, and Pema stood up and headed for the door. Before she left, Pema turned to him with a smile, "Don't worry, I promise you you're safe here."

When Naruto nodded, she left him in silence, and he proceeded to change into the set of clothes that she had brought for him - sadly, no orange. He also noted that she had left most of his equipment along with the clothes.

He decided to go along with it for now. He still new absolutely nothing about where he was, and the only thing that he was certain of was that he was supposed to find this Avatar person and help prepare her for... something.

Now Naruto grimaced; he _hated_ walking into anything blind -a lack of information got people killed, after all- and, judging from the lights of the city he could see past the room's window, the world/dimension/reality/_whatever _he was in was a bit more different than Raven had implied. Naruto was really starting to regret not holding out for more information.

Which brought another question to mind; how the hell could he understand that woman? Naruto knew that she was speaking a different language, yet he could understand her perfectly! He frantically wracked his mind for _some_ kind of information that would help him understand this, and then it hit him-

"_'...a culture and language that you would be completely unfamiliar with, but at the very least I can help you with that.'"_

Oh, _perfect,_ that searing pain in his head before that light had faded; the bastard must have put something in his head!

What else was floating around inside his mind? Although he didn't feel any huge, fundamental changes, Naruto did _not_ like the idea of somebody messing with his head. It almost never worked out well.

Well, nothing could be done about it now, so he would just have to go with the flow for a bit.

Naruto had changed into the the casual-style grey shirt and dark blue pants and his equipment not a full minute before the building began to shake.

000

Taro growled as he blocked the fireblast with a rock shield before slamming it towards the White Lotus guard, who quickly dodged it.

They had managed to infiltrate the Temple and locate the airbender, but everything had fallen apart after that; they had come prepared to fight a few White Lotus security and the airbender, not the water tribe councilor _and _the Chief of Police as well!

What the _hell_ were those two doing here?

The Beifong bitch being on the island could be explained by her past with the master- they were friends in childhood, and as far as he knew still were, though she almost never visited the island except for special occasions, or if she was invited by the Acolytes or the airbender. And she definitely hadn't been invited in the past month; they would have caught that.

But why in the Spirits name was _Tarrlok _at the Temple? The Equalists kept a close eye on the political climate of Republic City, taking note of the rivalries and how they could best be exploited to their advantage, and anyone who spent more than five minutes in a room with them knew that the Water Tribe and the Air councilmen despised each other.

And yet, there they were, standing back-to-back like warriors from ancient legend, Tarrlok lashing out a water-whip at a nearby Chi-blocker, while Tenzin dispelled an oncoming fire ball with an air-shield.

As much as it galled him to admit, this was far more than they could handle.

Stomping on the ground and summoning a large boulder, Taro sent it rushing towards the Lotus firebender, and the boulder smashed into his right arm, shattering it. Well, he had been aiming for the man's head, but it would do.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Taro sent a brief pulse of energy in the earth around him, confident that the remaining members of his squad could keep the enemy off of him for the few seconds required.

In those few seconds, he "saw" _everything_ on the island; the trees, the buildings, the stables, but most importantly, the positions of everyone standing on the ground. Four stood out in particular; three small pulses, and one larger pulse a few yards away from them, the larger group surrounded by what Taro would guess was a small group of guards, each of them merging towards each other, when they would likely attempt to evacuate the island.

Snapping back, Taro could see the four Chi-blockers had been apprehended by Beifong, and his benders were being occupied by the remaining White Lotus, giving the Tarrlok and the airbender the chance to turn their attention towards him.

Well, time for plan B.

Smirking, Taro roared, slamming his fist into the ground and creating a massive shockwave that unbalanced everyone in the area, before creating a small earth wave and charging to the single large pulse he had felt earlier, in the back of his mind aware of the airbender giving chase.

In all the chaos, nobody noticed the one lone Lotus member heading towards the shore.

000

Korra was worried about something. Bolin knew it, Mako knew it, and even Asami had seemed concerned, despite having met Korra precisely once before.

Bolin had assumed that Korra was just anxious about the match, that she would be herself again after they had won (was there ever any doubt?), but instead, she seemed like she had gotten even worse.

"You won!" Asami exclaimed cheerfully, all but throwing herself into Mako.

"Told you we would," Mako replied with a rare smile.

At this point, Bolin couldn't hold his worries back anymore and asked, "Korra, what's wrong?"

"I don't know," she said. "I just have this really bad feeling."

"Like what?" Bolin pressed, but he was stopped by the arrival of a man wearing a blue robe with a stylized white pattern. "Korra!"

"What is it?"

Panting, the man paused a moment before he said, "The Temple's under attack!"

Korra's eyes widened in fear, and she looked like she was on the verge of panic.

"And you should probably stay away."

And now she looked like she was about to explode.

"_What?" _This was a mix of a question and a growl.

"Listen, Korra," he started, "I didn't get a chance to see who it was that was attacking us, but I'm willing to bet that they were after you. If that's true, the logical thing thing to do is keep you as far away from them as possible."

"If you honestly think that I'm going to just stay here while-" Korra started, before she was interrupted by the older man.

"I don't," he said bluntly. "But even if you _did _try to get there, all possible routes to Air Temple Island have been blocked off -from _both _sides- until the crisis is resolved. There is quite simply nothing we can do"

Now Korra's hands were shaking, clenching and unclenching in helpless frustration.

"Actually," interjected Asami, a mischievous look in her eyes that Bolin really didn't like, "I have an idea."

A few moments later, the Sato's private airship was en route to Air Temple Island.

000

From within his Air Wheel, Tenzin was worried.

The Equalists forces had them at a great disadvantage; despite being able to repel their initial attack, he, Lin, and Tarrlok were wearing down, caught by surprise and forced to give up a lot of ground, and it wouldn't take that much more effort to finish them, so why was this man, who Tenzin assumed was the Equalist leader, suddenly abandoning his position?

Whatever the reason was, Tenzin doubted that it was anything good.

And then, he realized the man's target, and cold fear gripped his heart.

"Pema!"

000

At that moment, Naruto was cursing his rotten luck. Just when it seemed that he would be able to get some answers, somebody launched a full-scale assault on wherever he was.

A few years before he would have simply charged straight toward the sounds of the fighting, but the Akatsuki War had managed to knock that kind "strategy" out of him. He instead channeled chakra to the soles of his feet, using it to latch on to the roof of the building that he had just left, taking time to observe what was going on.

These people were using the elements in a way that he had never imagined. While the shinobi of almost every Country had some type of unique fighting style, incorporating at least one element into their jutsu's that no other villages could, including Kekkei Genkai, none of them had anything close to the level of control that the people before him did.

He also found it curious that while he could see Earth, Fire, and Water techniques being used, there were no Wind abilites. Perhaps there weren't as many Wind users here?

Sensing a huge burst of power, Naruto turned to see an absolutely massive man appear to ride on a wave of earth, another man dressed in orange and yellow chasing after him in what looked to be a wheel made out of pure air.

While he was impressed, Naruto knew he had to stay focused; what was going on?

Naruto was interrupted from his thoughts when he saw the earth-rider's target: the woman he had seen when he had first woken up.

Now, Naruto paused; he didn't have the slightest clue as to who any of these people were, so he wasn't truly involved in this yet, and he had a feeling that if he did choose one side over the other, there would be no turning back.

But still, these people apparently took him in after they had found him, made sure he would be alright when they were under no obligation to do so. Naruto was indebted to them, and if they were under attack, then, whoever it was, it was time for Naruto Uzumaki to do what he did best.

000

Tenzin could only watch in horror as the Equalist earthbender, having easily dispensed of the White Lotus guards, charged straight towards Pema, raising a massive blade that Tenzin blankly recognized as a Miao Dao.

In the split seconds that it took for the earthbender to close the distance, Tenzin's thoughts were not only of his wife, but also of his children and his mother.

Katara had been forced to watch as a firebender ruthlessly cut down her mother right in front of her. She had grown up despising the firebenders, until she had been forced to work alongside Prince Zuko so that Aang could learn how to firebend. While Katara had eventually been able to put her hatred behind her, she was still haunted by what she had nearly become, what she had almost allowed herself to do.

Would that now be the fate of his children? To wonder the world in a angry haze, until they were standing at the very edge of the abyss?

Would _he _be able to do nothing, and only watch from the background as his children corrupted themselves?

All of this passed through his mind in am matter of seconds, before Tenzin was jolted to attention when he heard a voice call "Earth Pillar Jutsu!"

Now, Tenzin watched in awe as, only a few feet away from Pema, the earth wave that the Equalist had been riding on suddenly became a massive pillar, forcing the earthbender to abandon it and roll on the ground, righting himself to face the new threat.

000

Taro took a bracing stance after jumping off his earth wave, taking a moment to examine the newcomer who had challenged him. He was not expecting to see a teenage boy staring down at him.

Blond hair, blue eyes, and odd looking whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks, even Taro could tell that there was _something_ odd about the boy, but at the moment, but Taro was more focused on that infuriating look on the blonde's face.

The kid was staring Taro down with a look of pure, absolute confidence, as if the winner of this fight had been determined the moment it began.

Taro had had people give him a similar look before, but most of them were now either dead or hopelessly maimed.

So, the little earthbending punk thought that just because he had gotten lucky once, he could fight in the big leagues? Well, Taro would just have to teach him otherwise.

"Gale Blast Jutsu!"

_WHAT!_

Taro barely had enough time for his mind to register the shock before his entire body was pummeled by a barrage of wind.

000

Naruto smirked at the shocked look on his opponent's face.

It appeared that he was right, and people who could use air techniques were rare here.

Taking a brief moment to observe the others around him, Naruto raised an eyebrow at their reactions.

While the woman, Pema, had taken the short reprieve while the huge man was distracted, and had started to make a run for it, now, after he had used the Gale Blast, she appeared to be frozen in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth dropping open slightly.

The air user had stopped as well, staring at Naruto with a similar look on his face, though tinged with a mix of relief and acceptance.

The most telling, though, were the group of six people that had just arrived, three adults who Naruto would guess were guarding three small children, the oldest of which couldn't have been more than ten years old. While the three guards were observing with looks of curiosity and caution, the children had frozen in shock, all three of their jaws hanging so low that Naruto could swear they reached the ground.

Well, apparently air users were even more uncommon than he had thought. He couldn't depend on them for much help though; these people didn't know him, and if those guards were any good at all at their jobs, they would be staying far away from the fight.

Naruto was broken out of his brief thoughts as his opponent got back to his feet, glaring daggers at him, before growling out, "What the _hell_ was that?"

Naruto only smirked again, before replying, "Maybe if you beat me, I'll tell you," taking great joy watching as the giant's face turned red with anger. Naruto did so love being annoying.

Now, the man seemed to decide to forgo using his element, dropping his sword and charging Naruto head on at a speed faster than a person of his size had any right to reach.

Naruto prepared himself as well, channeling chakra throughout his body, feeling his muscles tighten, his senses increase, his very bones hardening. With one last smirk, Naruto charged, and the two fighters collided together.

After a furious exchange of blows, Naruto became more cautious; whoever this man was, he felt like his body was made out of solid steel. Every time Naruto blocked one of his punches, his whole body trembled, shaking under the sheer, absolute _power_ of his opponent. And then, a few moments into the fight, the man broke through Naruto's guard, landing a punch squarely in his gut.

The blow was incredibly strong. Strong enough that Naruto could actually feel some of his ribs begin to crack. If he hadn't gained so much experience from Pein, Madara and the rest of the Akatsuki, that single punch might have creamed him right there. However, becusue he had experience, he could bear it.

He was still sent flying off the ground, though.

Naruto felt the wind get knocked out of him, before he was rocketed into the trunk of a nearby tree, almost smashing all the way through it before his momentum was slowed down and he dropped to the ground.

Panting, Naruto pushed himself to his knees, looking up to see the man smirking down at him. "You never stood a chance, boy." He sneered.

Growling, Naruto forced himself to stand fully again, before bringing his fingers into the familiar cross-shaped hand seal and shouting, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In puffs of smoke, three solid copies of himself popped into existence, before charging their absolutely stunned opponent.

Taro recovered quickly, though, lashing out with a punch at one of the clones, which burst into smoke at the contact. He was briefly stunned again, but quickly went to work on the other two clones.

However, this distraction was all the time that Naruto needed. He didn't have quite enough chakra to form a Rasengan yet, but he still had one or two techniques that could buy him time until he did.

Whipping out a kunai, Naruto muttered, "Vacuum Blade," lacing it with a small coat of wind, before readying himself for another round. His chakra capacity was beginning to restore itself, so he would have to draw the fight out until he had enough.

Taro roared and charged again, actually bowling through the last Shadow Clone on his way to his target. Naruto channeled a small drop of chakra to his legs and burst forward as well, this time bringing up his wind-enhanced kunai to meet Taro's fist rather than dodge or block them.

Sparks flew when fist and kunai met, Taro's skin so hard that it seemed to simply brush off the blade, and the two engaged each other again and again, dodging and evading, attacking and defending, both men trying to find some break in the others defense.

Finally, Naruto felt his chakra reach a high enough level, and decided that it was time to finish this. Jumping back, Naruto created eight more Shadow Clones, which then charged towards Taro. Seeing this, Taro growled, "Oh, not this time, brat!" Before slamming his foot on the ground, causing the earth around him to erupt into lines of columns before they propelled forward, demolishing the Clones.

But it was already too late.

While Taro was busy with his Shadow Clones, Naruto held his hand out, closed his eyes, and began channeling his chakra. First, he gathered his chakra and made a spinning ball of energy. Then, he began molding its shape, compressing the energy until it was about the size and shape of a bowling ball. Finally, he opened his eyes to see Taro rushing at him again.

This time, Naruto did not meet the charge. Instead, he stood his ground, rearing back the arm that held the swirling energy, and then thrusting it forward to meet Taro's oncoming fist.

"RASENGAN!"

000

Korra was a wreck. They were almost in sight of Air Temple Island now, but still she was panicking.

She never should have left.

Of course the Equalists would attack the Air Temple at _some_ point. Amon himself had basically told her that she was enemy number 1 to them.

Now, they could see the Temple, and Korra felt her heart clench; it was on fire. The fire wasn't anything large, or massive enough to engulf the island, and could probably be easily repaired later, but it was still a clear sign that there was indeed an attack taking place.

Korra felt a stab of cold guilt in her heart. She should have been there!

If the Equalists were after her, nowhere was completely safe, because according to Tarrlok, they had sympathizers everywhere in Republic City. Korra didn't want to believe it, but this attack likely meant that someone in the city had informed the Equalists where she was staying.

This was all her fault, she should have seen something like this coming, and because she didn't, Tenzin and his family were going to pay the price.

But before Korra could continue he self-destructive train of thought, she was interrupted by a sudden, blinding light that was coming from the courtyard.

Almost as quickly as it appeared, it was gone again, and Korra could only blink a few times before finally coming back to herself again.

"What _was _that?" Bolin asked, his voice slightly higher than usual.

"I don't know, but we're gonna find out," Korra replied.

000

Taro growled.

Whatever that attack was, he had never seen or felt anything like it in his life. He had always been the strongest, the toughest, but that one attack had just broken through all of his defenses like they weren't even there!

He had always hated backing out, but at this point, there was no way that he could still win. Not with the airship coming in to.

The boy was now lying unconscious on the ground, apparently exhausted from whatever that attack was, and had no way of fighting back now.

However, before he could get any closer to him, a massive, honest-to-Spirits _Polar-Bear dog _ had barreled into the way, letting out a vicious growl, as if it was just _daring_ him to try his luck.

Taro was honestly tempted to test his chances, before he saw the airbender approaching out of the corner of his eye, and he knew that he had lost.

With one last hateful glare at the brat, dearly wishing that he had enough time to grind the bones in the boy's body to dust, Taro snarled, "This is _not_ over," before heading back to the ship to report to headquarters.

000

There were very few times in his life that Tenzin could honestly say that he was speechless, but this was one of them.

What on Earth _was _this boy? Had he actually used an _airbending_ technique?

If he had, what did that mean? Was that the reason the Outsider sent the boy here? To help Korra unlock her airbending abilities? Or was it for some other reason altogether?

Even if he was sent here for his odd airbending abilities -because the last time he had checked, air didn't _cut_- how was she supposed to learn from him? Because Tenzin didn't have the slightest clue how the boy was able to do it.

And that wasn't even starting on that bright..._thing_ that the boy used to finish the fight.

"Tenzin!" He turned, and saw Korra running up to him along with her friends, still in their pro-bending gear. Good, she hadn't been involved in this. Still, he'd best make sure.

"Where you hurt, Korra?" Almost as soon as the question was out of his mouth, he knew that there was no point in asking.

"I'm fine," Korra said, a tad gruffly.

"We're fine, too," said one of the boys, although he didn't really seem that irritated.

"Tenzin, what _happened?" _Korra exclaimed, looking for all the world as if she would burst if she didn't get some kind of answer soon.

"Perhaps we should tend to our guest first," Tenzin replied, glancing over to the boy, still being guarded almost protectively by Naga.

Seeing the boy for the first time, Korra's eye widened, before silently nodding, apparently realizing that the best thing they could do now was wait for the boy to wake up.

Turning to see his wife and children approaching them, the children still looking slightly shell-shocked, Tenzin realized that he owed the boy a lot more than his life.

000

**Author's note**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed it. As I said, this has been the first extended action sequence of any kind I've ever written, so I'm not sure if it turned out as well as it could have. Also, sorry if the Naruto/Pema interaction felt a bit rushed, but I didn't want it to drag on for too long. Finally, yes, Taro is an OC, and he (and one more) is going to have a major role in the story, but I have taken great care in trying to avoid all the traps you typically get with OC's, and had nothing but the story in mind when I came up with them.**

**Unfortunately, at this point the updates are probably going to slow down a little, because in the chapters after this, Naruto will be interacting with the **_**Korra**_** characters directly, and I want to be sure I've got their characters down right before posting anything more.**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for your time! **


	5. Explanations and Meetings

**Well, here's the next chapter. This one is mainly to try and explain why the Equalists would work with benders, though it does focus on Naruto a great deal as well.**

******To answer some of the comments I have received about the matter, all I will say is: Please just be patient! I do have a reason for it, but that reason will not  
be revealed at the very beginning**

**Chapter 4: Explanations and meetings.**

_"Why are you doing this?" Naruto asked, glaring up at Madara Uchiha as he stood on the rooftop above him at the edge of Kumogakure._

_"For the exact reasons I gave you, boy." The reply was a mixture of conviction and condescension, as if while Madara believed what he was saying, he never expected Naruto to understand._

_"We have been divided for far too long, fought amongst one another too often. We were one people once, before we allowed ourselves to become divided by our petty jealousies. I intend to correct that. I am going to _unite_ us in a way that no kage or daimyo ever could!_

_"Take a look around you; see the destruction and chaos. You and your allies could end it all, right here, right now, if you only lay down your arms!"_

_But Naruto had seen what the Akatsuki did to those they conqured, and there was no way in _hell_ that he was letting that happen to Konoha, or any other Hidden Village._

_Naruto prepared to charge a full-powered wind-style Rasengan, but before he could charge, the entire world seemed to fall away, and then he somewhere else, unable to make out any of his surroudings, but still able to recognize the vauge outlines of two men, one of which appeared to be holding a sword of some kind._

_"This is the only way." The figure with the sword stated._

_"Is that how you sleep at night?" The other man asked, snorting._

_The first man didn't respond to the obvious jab. "You know the stakes just as well as I do."_

_Now, Naruto was somewhere else, and he couldn't get any kind of bearing at all, for there was just _nothing,_ no light, no space, not even darkness, just a great void of emptiness. Then, Naruto could feel something, some unknown presence that gave off a feeling of pure, absolute hate, before he saw a pair of golden eyes, and the _thing_ howled in fury..._

Naruto felt as if he had just gone three rounds straight with a full-powered Rock Lee, and he was really starting to hope that waking up in pain wasn't going to become a trend here. He could vaguely recall having a dream, about his fight with Madara in Kumo, and then a white mask, but he couldn't remember any specifics.

He should have expected something like this. After all, when was the last time anything had gone _right_ in his life? The fact that he actually had to pause for a moment to think of an answer was depressing in and of itself.

He had traveled to a completely different _world_, and one of the first things he did after his arrival was get himself involved in a fight.

To be fair, Naruto didn't regret it. In fact, given another chance, he probably would have done the exact same thing. He could never just stand by as innocent people got slaughtered when he knew that he could do something to help.

No, he was just marveling at his inability to catch a single break in his life.

Seriously, he had been willing to _sacrifice_ himself so that the Akatsuki War would end, and his friends would live. Didn't that count for anything?

Apparently not.

Well, at least he had been able to protect the noncombatants. That would be good enough for him.

Taking a moment to look around, Naruto realized that he was in a room similar to the one that he had woken up in, though it clearly wasn't some convenient guest room like the one that he had been in before was. Instead, this room gave the feeling that someone was living in it. Despite the lack of any obvious decorations, the way the various objects in the room were organized indicated that it was because of a persons' personal preference. He could see a shelf that was filled with books, though he couldn't make out any of the titles, and what he could only guess were some type of scrolls spread out over a desk. While most of the scrolls were closed, one was laid open, as if whoever this room belonged to had been reading it before they left for some reason.

Observing the scroll from the bed he was lying in, Naruto noticed that he couldn't read the language, so whatever it was that Raven had done to him, it seemed to only affect his speech. _Well, wouldn't want things to be too easy, would we? _Naruto thought sarcastically.

Sensing another presence, he turned his head to the door, just as it opened, revealing a man wearing the same blue-white pattern robes that had been guarding the young children Naruto had seen earlier.

"You're awake." The guard was gruff, as if he wasn't sure that Naruto was a friend or enemy. That was fine; if something like this had happened back home, Naruto would be suspicious too. It would have probably been better to make a showing of how grateful he was for their hospitality, but Naruto decided to just go with being a smart-ass.

"You people _are_ good." Naruto felt a sense of smug satisfaction when he was rewarded to the sight of the guard's eye twitching.

"I was ordered to report as soon as you woke up; just stay where you are and someone will come for you shortly." The man turned and walked down the hall, and Naruto smirked at how easy it was to rile him up.

So, someone was coming to talk to him, huh? Well, it looked like he might be able to get some answers after all.

While a part of him was tempted to just leave the room and go to whoever it was himself, for now, Naruto decided it would be best to wait.

000

At the moment, Tenzin was feeling a mix of emotions, some more prevalent than others; mostly confusion, gratitude, concern, anxiety, and a little bit of fear.

Confusion, because he was still trying to figure out just what on Earth was going on. First a strange boy appeared out of a blinding flash of golden light and got rescued by Korra, and was then taken to their Temple where he could recover. Then, there was a sudden, unexpected assault, and while they had managed to repel it and even capture some prisoners for questioning from the Police Force, he still didn't know what to make of the fact that _benders_ were in the Equalists group. Apparently, the "radicals" weren't quite as radical as they had all thought.

He felt gratitude, because when he had seen the giant Earthbender swing his blade towards Pema, he had been certain that she would die, and Tenzin had never been more relieved in his life than in the moment that their guest had decided to intervene. However, this line of thought brought Tenzin right back to confusion, as he was still trying to work out the myriad of abilities that the boy had displayed in fighting off his opponent. In the end, it was probably best to not think about, because Tenzin wouldn't be getting any answers until the boy -Naruto, Pema said his name was- woke up again.

He was concerned because of what little he had been able to comprehend as he watched the boy fight. He was obviously experienced. Tenzin would have normally let this be, but he had taken note of Naruto's movements as he had fought. While they were not precise or graceful, there had been a certain control over them, the blonde never allowing himself to be placed in an unstable position, or allowing his enemy to gain truly solid footing. He had clearly been in a life-and-death battle more than once, and while a part of Tenzin was saddened at this knowledge, he was mostly focused on the personal memories that the movements had brought up. Tenzin had seen people move and carry themselves like that before, but only with his father, when Avatar Aang had visited the veterans of the Hundred Year War. And that worried him.

Tenzin was anxious, because if he was correct, and the boy had been brought here because of the Outsider, then that could mean any number of things for them, but it definitely meant that the situation was a lot more complex than they had first thought it was.

Finally, he was feeling a touch of fear because at the moment everyone in the room- Lin, Tarrlok, and Korra, was staring him down, waiting for him to start explaining, challenging him to make another excuse.

He was honestly surprised that Lin was still here. After the other nights' attempted assault, he would have figured that she'd be back at her headquarters now, waiting for the chance to start "talking" to the new prisoners. Instead, it seemed that Lin had either decided that this was more important, or her curiosity had simply gotten the better of her.

He didn't know why Tarrlok was still here; the man hadn't spoken more than five times since the attack, but he had shaken himself out of whatever stupor he was in and now appeared a great deal more focused than he had before.

Korra's friends and the children plus Pema were not at the meeting; this was not a conversation that they should hear, and knowing that Naruto was placed in Tenzin's personal quarters with a guard manning the post would be enough to keep them away -he hoped- but he couldn't help thinking that it was useless keeping Korra's friends from this. Knowing Korra, she would probably just tell them everything she heard here anyway.

"Start talking, Tenzin." Well, it appeared that Lin had finally lost her patience.

"Where do you want me to start?"

"Oh, I don't know," this was from Korra, "maybe the fact that one of the first things Ikki asked me when I saw her last night was if 'I knew the boy I rescued was an _Airbender?'_"

"I think we'd all like to know more about that little detail." Apparently, Korra, Lin, and Tarrlok actually agreed on something for once. Unfortunately, this did not bode well for _him_.

"I honestly can't answer that, but I can tell you some of my suspicions."

"That might be a good place to start."

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Tenzin began, "I believe that the boy was brought here by a Spirit known as 'The Outsider.'" Dead silence met his answer, and now Tenzin felt distinctly uncomfortable.

The silence was eventually broken by Tarrlok's, "I don't think any of us expected _that._" Although there was some of his usual condescension in his tone, there was also a trace of curiosity as well.

"The Outsider?" Korra asked, trailing off slightly at the end, as if unsure of herself. Tarrlok and Lin appeared to be in similar states of disbelief.

"My father encountered the Outsider when he was trying to put down the crime lord known as Yakone."

_That_ got everyone's attention. Korra wouldn't know who he was talking about, but the words "crime lord" would have piqued her interest regardless. Lin, on the other hand, undoubtedly knew of Yakone through her mother. However, it was Tarrlok's reaction that intrigued Tenzin the most. For a brief instant the man froze before trying to gather himself again. Whether the reaction was from shock or fear, or a mixture of the two, Tenzin couldn't say.

While Tenzin was curious about what had caused such a strong reaction, he knew that it wasn't his place to ask, so he just filed it away for future reference.

"When Yakone had escaped his trial, my father chased him down. It was a near thing, but eventually, Yakone was cornered. He had no intentions of surrender, and so tried to fight. Of course, Aang was able to beat him, and he activated the Avatar State, in order to remove Yakone's Water and Bloodbending abilities. At least, that is the _official_ report. What really happened was... somewhat stranger."

Lin was now understandably curious, as she was the one person in the room who was most affected by Yakone's legacy. He now had Korra's undivided attention, and Tarrlok had managed his face into a mask of neutrality.

"While Aang was able to remove all of Yakone's Bending, he privately told me that in that split second of time it took for him to activate the Avatar State, his consciousness was... somewhere else. He didn't know if it was in the Spirit World or another place entirely.

"Now, his recollection of the incident was hazy at best, but he was able to tell me two things about the experience that I believe may apply to Naruto - the boy Korra saved- as well.

"First, Aang found himself in a vast ocean of darkness- no light, no heat, no cold, not even any ground, just endless black.

"Second, he saw something; two glowing eyes within the dark, the color of pure gold. It was only for an instant, but it was enough.

"After Aang's mind was brought back, he did what he originally meant to do, but afterwards, he conducted his own research, tracking down any reference he could about what he had seen. As you might be able to imagine, given the briefness of the event, it was difficult to find any useful information, but in time, he found an ancient scroll in the archives of the Fire Nation that described what he had seen almost word for word. In addition, this scroll gave him a name: _Wairen_,"Outsider."

Now, Tenzin paused to let his audience absorb what he was saying to them. It would not surprise him if they didn't believe any of this- he could hardly believe it himself. But if there was even the slightest chance that it was indeed the Outsider who sent Naruto here, they could _not_ ignore it.

"From the small amount of references Aang was able to find, he was able to piece together a basic idea of what this being was like.

"As far as we can tell, the Outsider is a Spirit, much like Koh, or Tui and La. However, unlike many other Spirits, the Outsider actively involved himself in the affairs of the Mortal World. There are numerous accounts of similar experiences like Aang's throughout ancient history, almost all from the Avatar of the time."

"So, you think that this has something to do with me?" Now Korra was fidgeting slightly; while she was proud of her position as the Avatar, this was a little out of her depth.

"Possibly, though whatever the reason may be, I doubt it means anything good for us. Whenever the Outsider has reached out to an Avatar, it has almost always been to deliver a message or a warning, usually before an event that would impact the world as a whole. I have little doubt that had Aang not frozen himself in ice, the Outsider would have contacted him about the Fire Nation as well.

"If it was the Outsider that Korra saw, and if he did bring the boy here, then I can only guess that it is because something big is coming."

Tenzin paused again, just to be sure that the people listening to him understood the potential significance of what was happening to them.

"Supposing you're right," Tarrlok said at last, "What should _we_ do about it?"

"As I said, this could mean any number of things, but if Korra had a vision of him as well, and if the Outsider did want her to save the boy, then I would think that he is meant to help Korra in some way, especially if he's an Airbender as well as an Earthbender."

Tenzin still couldn't wrap his mind around that one. Naruto had not only used _Airbending_ against the Earthbender, but he had also clearly manipulated the Earth to save Pema as well. Things like that were supposed to be impossible, yet he had seen it anyway. It appeared that their guest could use multiple elements, and if that was true, perhaps he really was sent here to help Korra in her Avatar training.

Tenzin hadn't told them about the _other_ things he had seen the boy do just yet- then they probably _would _think he was insane.

"Whatever the reason, the fact remains that he is _here,_ and he saved Pema's life the other night. If nothing else, I owe him for that."

Lin frowned slightly, before reluctantly saying, "I suppose you have a point."

Tarrlok simply nodded in agreement, and Tenzin had no doubt that Korra would have agreed as well, if she was not interrupted by the arrival of the White Lotus member that Tenzin had posted to keep watch over their guest.

"Yes?"

"The boy is awake, master Tenzin."

Turning to the others, Tenzin said, "We'll continue this conversation after I have spoken with him."

And he left before the others could say anything.

000

After his admittedly abrupt departure, Tenzin braced himself for coming conversation.

While he had been telling the truth about the Outsider, there was one part of his father's brief experience with the Spirit that he had left out, because not even Aang had been able to determine what it meant.

In that single moment, as Aang had stared into the Outsider's golden eyes, he had heard a voice give him one brief message: _'IT HAS BEGUN_.'

Whatever the meaning behind it was, Tenzin just _knew_ that it had something to do with what had happened the other night at Aang Memorial Island, and the things he had witnessed during the Equalists assault on the Temple only served to solidify that feeling. He still had no idea how Aang fit into it all, though.

Regardless, Tenzin wouldn't get any answers until he spoke with the boy, something he was surprised to learn he was actually looking forward to. After all, in all the years of recorded human history, Tenzin honestly couldn't think of an event quite like this.

Gathering himself one more time, Tenzin opened the door and went into the room, feeling a bit foolish for having so much apprehension while entering his own quarters.

Once he was inside, Tenzin's eyes immediately went to the body that was lying in his bed, and saw blue eyes staring back at him.

Giving the boy observing him a small smile, Tenzin said, "I'm glad you're finally awake."

Naruto frowned, before asking, "How long was I out?"

The man seemed to pause for a bit, maybe not expecting the somewhat blunt question.

"A little more than half a day, not counting the other day before you woke up the first time."

Maybe now, Naruto could finally get some idea of what was going on. Perhaps he should start with the obvious first though, "Who are you?"

Tenzin was relieved at this- he supposed it was as good a place to start as any.

"I am Tenzin, the Administrator of Air Temple Island, where you were brought after we found you in the ocean."

As the memories came rushing back, Naruto paused when he remembered some of the last bits.

"Who was it that pulled me out?"

At this, Tenzin gave a small, fond smile. "That would be Korra. She's a... guest at our temple."

Naruto remained silent, trying to absorb what Tenzin was saying- something told him that this Korra wasn't just a guest. But Naruto was hardly in a position to make any demands, so he decided it would be best to wait for the other man to continue.

After a few slightly awkward moments, Tenzin eventually said, "May I ask for your name?"

Naruto started at that, flushing a little as he realized that Tenzin probably didn't even know who he was.

"Oh, uh... It's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

Tenzin raised an eyebrow slightly at that; while the name sounded like something one would hear in certain areas of the Fire Nation, Naruto's appearance dispelled that idea. Tenzin couldn't think of a single person he had met that was born in the area and had blonde hair _or_ blue eyes, let alone both features at once. Still, perhaps he should introduce the boy to that Sato girl that Korra had brought with her...

Filing the thought away, Tenzin decided it was time to get to the purpose of the meeting.

"Tell me, Naruto, what do you remember before you... fell into the ocean?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, before deciding that it would be best to just be as truthful as possible. If they still thought that he was insane after he was done, then it wouldn't be _his_ fault.

"I can remember darkness and glowing eyes." Well, it _was_ the truth- Naruto just didn't feel like elaborating that much at the moment.

However Naruto was expecting Tenzin to react, it wasn't the resigned sigh he heard or the man slowly sitting down on the floor. Maybe the experience wasn't quite as insane as he had thought?

"And did this man tell you his name?"

Now Naruto was interested. If Tenzin knew that the glowing eyes he was talking about belonged to a man, with hardly anything else to go by, then maybe he knew what had happened.

"He said his name was Raven." At Tenzin's look, Naruto clarified, "He also said people called him 'the Outsider.'"

Now Tenzin nodded slowly, and if Naruto thought the man had seemed resigned before, he looked doubly so now.

"I suppose you're here because of the Avatar, then?"

Naruto was taken aback at this; he still had almost no idea who the Avatar was, aside from the fact that it was a female.

"The Avatar...?"

Tenzin gazed curiously at him. "Yes, the master of all four elements."

Naruto restrained a growl of impatience. Raven had told him the exact same thing, and he had no clue what either of the two men were talking about.

"Hey, I have no idea who or what this 'Avatar' is, so I can't say if I'm here for them or not. Aside from that, I'm sore in places I didn't even know I had, and I haven't eaten for at least a day, so I would _really_ appreciate it if someone could tell what the hell is going on!"

Tenzin only blinked at Naruto's unexpected outburst, before he gave a sheepish look; maybe he _had_ dived into the entire conversation too quickly. After all, Naruto had saved Pema's life, and he hadn't even thanked the boy for it yet.

Tenzin took a breath before he began. "You're right, and I must apologize; this is an... unusual situation for me as well, and I allowed my excitement to get the better of me. If my theory is correct, then you wouldn't know anything about this place, and someone should try and fill you in as much as possible."

Now it was Naruto's turn to blink. He hadn't meant to fly off the handle like that, and he wasn't prepared for Tenzin's sudden apology. He was about to apologize himself, before Tenzin beat him to the punch.

"First, I would like to thank you for saving my wife the other night. My family and I will always be in your debt for that."

Naruto flushed slightly at that. He was always a little embarrassed when people praised him like this, especially when he was just doing the right thing.

"Aw, it was nothing. I just did what anybody else would have."

Tenzin smiled a little when he heard Naruto's response. A little humility was never a bad thing. "Well, I don't think that 'anybody else' would have thrown themselves in harms' way like you did, and they certainly wouldn't have been able to use Airbending to boot."

When he heard Naruto's confused "What's Airbending?" Tenzin sighed again, realizing that this was probably going to be a _very_ long talk.

000

Alone in the dining hall, Korra huffed in a mixture of impatience and irritation. Tenzin did say that he would come back after he had seen to the boy she had saved, but he didn't say that he would take over _three hours_!

Korra had known that Tenzin likely had a lot to talk about with the guy, but this was pushing it. What exactly could they be talking about for so long, anyway?

It would have been more bearable if there was _someone_ else with her, but Chief Beifong had left the room after the first hour had crawled by, saying that she wanted to check on Pema, though Korra wouldn't be surprised at all if she was also trying to gather information about their "guest" at the same time.

Korra didn't know where Tarrlok had gone to after the second hour had passed, and she didn't really care that much either. She had been more focused on the fact that Tarrlok leaving meant that _she_ would have to stay and "man the fort," so to speak.

She would have spent the time with Mako, Bolin, and Asami, but she had found that they had also left, presumably heading back to their own homes.

Huffing again, Korra couldn't hold her impatience in any longer, and began pacing the room while all but shouting, "Seriously, what's taking so long!"

A handful of seconds later, she heard the sound of footsteps coming from the direction that Tenzin had left.

Growling a little, Korra whirled around to what had to be Tenzin, fully prepared to lay into him a little (for once), but when she saw the person with him, her words died in her throat.

She wasn't expecting Tenzin to have brought the boy along with him. Although, now that she could see him up close, Korra didn't think the term 'boy' was right.

He was tall, a few inches taller than her, with wild, spiky hair a shade of blonde that she had never seen on anyone else, blue eyes, and a lean, wiry frame. He had stopped a few feet behind Tenzin, and was observing her with a mix of curiosity and amusement.

Flushing slightly, Korra attempted to regain her composure and say something that wouldn't embarrass herself further. What came out was a somewhat strangled, "Uh, h-hi." _Oh, that was _brilliant_._

Naruto was having difficulty containing his amusement as he took in the girl before him.

She was around average height, with an athletic build. Before Naruto and Tenzin had entered the room, and her brief outburst, she held herself with an easy, self-assured confidence that Naruto had come to appreciate during the war. At the moment, that confidence was being replaced by a more sheepish demeanor. He would guess that she wasn't in a situation like this very often. Then again, he doubted many people were.

Still, she seemed nice enough. In fact, for some reason she actually felt a little familiar, but Naruto couldn't quite place his finger on it.

Korra grabbed hold of herself and decided to try and at least introduce herself, before she took a closer look at the boy's face and paused again. _Are those whiskers?_

Shaking herself out of her daze, Korra walked over to the boy and offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Korra."

Naruto grinned and shook her hand, now remembering something that he and Tenzin had discussed. "Naruto Uzumaki. And if I remember right, it was you who saved my life."

Naruto had honestly meant what he had said, so he was surprised to see Korra blush again.

"Oh, i-it was nothing; I was just the one who reacted first. Besides, any other person would have done the same thing."

Naruto couldn't hold back his grin, realizing that just a short while ago, he had been in almost the same position that he had just put Korra in.

"Still, thanks all the same."

Now Korra gave him a warm smile, apparently over whatever embarrassment she was feeling a moment ago.

"If anything, I think I should be thanking _you_. I mean, from what I've heard, you're the only reason this Temple is still standing."

Naruto smiled slightly before attempting to brush it off like he had with Tenzin. "Well, I guess we're even, then."

The two were brought back to reality when they heard Tenzin coughing lightly, hiding a small smile behind his hand.

"I hate to break this up, but there are some people who would very much like to meet you, Naruto."

Both flushing now, the two teens seemed to come to an unspoken agreement, and silently waited for Tenzin to lead the way.

000

Back at headquarters, Taro was not in a good mood. In fact, he was downright pissed.

Whatever that... attack that blonde kid had used on him was, it had shattered his arm.

_His arm was damaged!_

True, a skilled healer could repair most of it, and he would be able to use the arm fully within a few days, a week at most, but that was not what concerned him at the moment.

Taro may have liked to keep up the impression, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that if that attack, the _Rasen..._something, had hit him in his chest, or maybe his stomach, or pretty much anywhere else besides where it actually _did_ land, he would have died. In addition, something told him that the attack was not at full power, and if it was, he probably wouldn't _have_ an arm at all.

And _that_ infuriated him.

It had been a very long time since he had last taken damage like that, and Taro couldn't stand the knowledge that it had been a teenage _brat _that had done it_._

Taro had spent years in training, perfecting his ability to command the earth. He had rediscovered Earthbending techniques that few others knew existed and had even created one or two of his own.

One of the more unique abilities that Taro had created was what he had taken to calling Conditioning. Through intense physical and mental training, he was able to "coat" his entire body with his Chi, essentially making his skin and bones as hard and as strong as the element that he wielded. While it was very useful, making him immune to all but the strongest attacks, one of its major drawbacks was that Taro couldn't really _feel_ anything much more, aside from the most extreme physical conditions. Conditioning also wasn't invincible, and it could be overpowered if Taro's opponent was strong, fast, or just plain lucky enough, but he was usually able to make sure those circumstances never happened. If they still did anyway, Taro usually preferred to forgo bending all together and just beat the bastard to death. In addition, once the Conditioning was actually broken through, it took Taro at least two or three days of meditation to reactivate the technique, after which he would have to spend a few more weeks rebuilding it to the point where it would actually be useful in combat.

And tonight, the brat had been able to completely shatter his Conditioning with ease, while he still wasn't at his full strength! Taro could not let this slide, and he would get payback for it, eventually.

Also weighing on his mind and adding to his fury was the knowledge that he had very likely lead what would later be known as the Equalists' greatest failure.

While the four benders he had brought with him _were_ some of the best in their organization, they were also some of the _only_ ones who could use any real bending. Yes, they had other benders, Earthbenders and Firebenders mostly, with the occasional Waterbender, but few of them had any real skill, and they wouldn't be much more use than the non-benders in a real fight.

Sure, there were always mercenaries looking for a job that paid well, and with their resources the Equalists weren't exactly hurting for cash, but they would still never compare to benders who joined their organization of their own free will. Besides, you could never trust a merc.

Even worse, their best benders were now in the hands of the Police Force, and Taro honestly couldn't be sure if any of them wouldn't break and start talking.

Well, they still likely didn't know much more useful information than Beifong did, so the Equalists as a whole were still mostly safe for the moment.

But that damned blonde was still a complete unknown.

How the _hell_ had he been able to use the Air like that? Whatever it was that he had used, it certainly wasn't Bending, or at least no any form of Bending that Taro recognized. Airbending techniques didn't cause actual physical pain on contact. And then the brat was somehow able to use an_ Earth_ ability as well! It was simply unheard of, and if Taro hadn't seen it for himself, he would have laughed outright at the very idea.

Even after experiencing it for himself, Taro still had trouble believing it, but there was simply no other explanation that he could find.

And all of that wasn't even starting on the kid's _other_ abilities. He was able to made _solid replicas of himself,_ manipulate energy itself in a way that shouldn't have been possible, and had more stamina, endurance, and agility than almost anyone else Taro had encountered besides Amon.

If the boy could use both Air and Earth abilities -with the possibility of still more elements- in addition to the other techniques that Taro had seen that night, and if he was on the Avatar's side, then Equalists might have a much tougher fight on their hands.

And now, here Taro was, waiting for Amon to summon him so that he could attempt to explain how they had failed so badly.

As he waited, Taro found his mind drifting back to that day when it had all began...

_Even before he had realized his full potential, Taro had always been the strongest, the toughest, and the hardest. In the various tournaments that he had participated in, legal or otherwise, his name had become damn near legend, to the point where nobody was even willing to step into the same ring as him, and it looked like he would have to find some other way to fight. _

_But then there was a new challenger, a man who didn't give his name to the officials, walking into the arena wearing a cheesy mask, a man who had no Bending abilities at all, yet still for some reason decided to challenge him. Taro had entered the ring certain that he would smash the arrogant fool without even breaking a sweat._

_He had lost within two minutes._

_He could barely follow the masked man's movements, and in the space of a minute he had found his Chi totally blocked, and he was unable to use the Bending skills that he had become so famous for. Still he fought, relying instead on pure, ruthless brutality to try and overwhelm his opponent, but all of his strikes were dodged, and the round had ended when the man had used his own arm, outstretched from his latest punch, as a jumping board and slamming down with an axe-kick to his skull._

_After he had regained consciousness, Taro had sworn that he would track down the bastard. And when he finally did, in some unknown back-alley in the borders of the Earth Kingdom, he had almost lost his life. _

_Taro had fully expected the masked man to slit his throat when he pressed the blade against it -it was what he would have done if the positions were reversed, though Taro had always preferred brute force to subtlety but instead the man simply stared at him for a while, as if studying him, judging Taro's... something. _

_After a few moments, the blade was released, and the man stood back, no longer holding the blade in an offensive position, but now merely on guard, though he didn't sheath it._

_"You are strong," the man said at last, and it was more of a statement than anything else._

_"Damn straight!" Taro responded; he was strong, dammit, and no one would ever be able to question that._

_The man seemed to smirk behind his mask, and he sheathed the blade, before he offered his hand, as if expecting Taro to take it, saying, "I could use someone like you." _

_"What are you talking about?" Taro growled; here this man was about to kill him, having to know that Taro wouldn't hesitate if the positions were reversed, and now he was offering him a job?_

_"I'm going to form a certain... group." The man explained. "Once it reaches its' height, it will be one of the most feared and respected organizations in the world, and I would like you to help me create it."_

_Oh, hell no. Taro would admit that a part of him was intrigued, but there was no way that he was walking into _anything_ blind._

_"I'm going to need a little bit more than that," he said, drawing out his words as if he was speaking to a simpleton._

_The man either didn't catch the insult or ignored it, because he answered, as calmly as possible, "This organization will change the world, Earthbender; do you really wish to pass up this type of opportunity?"_

_Now, Taro paused. He still didn't trust this man at all, but he had more than proven his strength. Taro respected power and despised weakness, and he had never met any man quite as powerful as the one in front of him. While Taro was still physically stronger, he could never win in a fight with him, at least not while he was as strong as he was now._

_Besides, it wasn't as if Taro had anything better to do._

_His choice made, Taro simply said, "What the hell?" before accepting the man's outstretched hand._

_There was still one thing he needed, though._

_"But before I can really commit, I need a name..."_

_A few months later, the Equalists were born._

Taro was brought back to the present when he heard the non-bending Lieutenant enter the room he was waiting in. "He wishes to speak with you."

Taro stood, ignoring the slight glare that the Lieutenant sent his way. While the non-benders might have accepted the presence of benders in the Equalists, very few of them were actually happy about it.

Walking into Amon's quarters and making sure that the door closed behind him, Taro waited as Amon stood at a large window overlooking Republic City, his back turned to him.

After a moment, Amon said, "Report." And Taro launched into a precise but detailed explanation of what had happened, trying to keep it as objective as possible. Which was actually pretty difficult for him, seeing as the least outlandish thing he was describing was a boy using both Earth and Air.

He found himself grateful that Amon never allowed his emotions to rule his judgment, because if he did, then Taro would have probably been laughed out of the room.

Instead, once he had finished, Amon stayed silent, simply continuing to stare out at the city before them. If Taro had to guess, he would say that Amon was analyzing everything that he had just been told, trying to see the experience from every possible angle, before speaking of his own thoughts on the matter.

"This changes things," was all he said.

Taro should have expected it; Amon was not the sort of man who would punish his subordinates for something that they couldn't have prepared for, and what was the point of getting a debriefing from your soldiers if you were not willing to listen to them?

"Got anything in mind?" If there was one man who could take something like this and turn it to their advantage, it was Amon.

"For now, we can only observe, we cannot afford to make another assault until we have more information on this boy you encountered."

While Taro still wanted to crush the brat, he understood the need for caution at times like this. They needed to learn what, exactly, he was capable of, and try to find any weaknesses that could be exploited before another engagement. Besides, with the damage he had sustained, he wouldn't be much use in combat anyway at this point. Didn't mean he had to like it, though.

As if he had sensed Taro's frustration, Amon finally turned, and Taro guessed that behind the mask, he was smiling slightly.

"I know this aggravates you, Lieutenant."

"Damn straight, it does," Taro responded, his temper finally starting to get the better of him.

"Calm yourself, Lieutenant. This is not the time for pettiness." That irked him a little, but Taro got the man's point, and made a greater effort to restrain himself. Once he had calmed, Taro decided it would be best to move to another topic.

"What about after we've gathered enough intel?"

Amon was likely smirking at this point, and he turned again back to the window, hands folded behind his back.

"At that point, my friend, we strike."

Taro smirked; that was good enough for him. At least he'd still get another shot at the little bastard.

"You are dismissed, Taro."

Nodding briefly, Taro turned and made his exit, leaving Amon alone with his thoughts.

000

**AN:**

**Okay, so as I said, this was meant to explain some of the plot devices that I'm going to be using in the story. I won't say much about them yet, but I will say that the central element, the one responsible for the differences in the Equalists, is one I have seen in a few Sci-fi/Fantasy novels, but never one that has been used in quite this context.**

**Second, I apologize if the Naruto/Korra interaction was too short, because I know a lot of you have been waiting for it, but I can promise that there will be more in the next chapter, which I will again try to get out within two weeks.**

**And finally, thank you all for your interest in this fic!**

**Till next time!**


	6. Interlude 1: Introductions

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Naruto**_** or **_**Legend of Korra**_**. However, I do own Taro and Raven.**

**Well, here's the next chapter. **

**I'm calling this an "interlude" because while it is important to the story as a whole, it simply doesn't integrate well with the other chapters. Put simply, these interludes might not move the plot forward, but they will enhance the story. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**Thanks to all those who followed, favorited, and reviewd the story so far.**

**Special thanks to Vandenbz for proofreading this chapter.**

**Interlude: Introductions**

As Tenzin lead the way to wherever it was that they were going, actually using a path heading to the open grounds at one point, Naruto used the time to truly take in the island.

It was comprised of multiple different structures, all made in a style that Naruto had never quite seen before. The most obvious building was the large, multi-story tower placed in the center of the island, which he guessed was some kind of central hub for the people living here.

Naruto imagined that the island was probably a peaceful place the vast majority of the time, but he had trouble getting past the assault that he had brought himself into. Still, despite the bad first impression, he had to admit that under a bright sun and cloudless sky, the place did have a certain... tranquility to it.

Then again, perhaps that had something to do with the girl that was currently walking beside him.

She was certainly unique.

Mocha-colored skin, brown hair, and eyes a curious mix of green and blue, Naruto could honestly say that he had never met anyone quite like her. When he had first seen her, Naruto had thought that she had a body build that was similar to his own, though it seemed like she was built more for strength than he was, if her muscular forearms were any indication. She wore no visible makeup, as if she had never really considered it, and he had to admit that she didn't suffer for it. She was by no means bad-looking, but she wouldn't be turning any heads because of her looks alone, either. At best, Naruto would say she was 'cute'. But he had seen glimpses of her personality as well. When he had locked eyes with her, first when she had pulled him from the ocean, and again when they had had their first proper meeting, he had seen a fire, a burning drive to prove herself. It may have been untested, but Naruto knew that such a fire could be nothing else but the will of a fighter, and it reminded him of himself back when he had first become a shinobi.

If this Korra was the Avatar that Tenzin had told him about, Naruto was looking forward to learning more about her.

Suddenly hearing a deep sound that he didn't recognize, Naruto turned around to see a large... thing standing a few feet away from him. It might have been a large white bear, but its head was the wrong shape, looking more like a dog's than anything else. Yelping in surprise, Naruto quickly jumped back, latching himself onto the wall by focusing chakra to the soles of his feet, drawing a kunai from his leg holster before he heard a cry of shock.

Naruto looked down to see Korra staring at him in absolute shock, her mouth hanging open and struggling to form words properly. Turning his attention to the thing that now seemed to be looking at him curiously, Naruto decided that it might be best to ask some questions before he did anything that he might come to regret.

"What is _that_?_" _Somehow, despite having no human facial features, the animal actually managed to look hurt.

"Uh, that's Naga."

"So you weren't exaggerating." This was from Tenzin, though he also looked surprised.

"What are you talking - what is this?"

Realizing that Korra had never seen anyone use chakra before, Naruto smiled sheepishly and holstered his kunai. "Sorry about that."

"Sorry about _what_? _How are you doing that?_"

Well, no point in hiding it. "Chakra."

If anything, the blunt answer seemed to frustrate Korra even more. _"What's 'chakra?' _Though phrased as a question, her voice had risen a pitch or two.

"Korra, if you don't mind waiting for a little while, I would rather explain this to everyone else at once." This was from Tenzin, who seemed to have handled the event a bit better than Korra was.

Huffing, Korra gathered herself as best she could, though she still seemed somewhat flustered. "Well, anyway, this is Naga, my best friend."

Turning his attention back to the bizarre animal, Naruto found it was looking at him with an expression that could almost be described as friendly. Cautiously, he released the chakra holding him to the wall and dropped down.

Korra was still staring, but she had recovered from the shock enough to focus on another topic for the time being, though her mind was still trying to work out what she had just seen.

"Okay, but what is it, exactly?" Whatever it was, they sure as hell didn't have anything like it in the Elemental Nations.

Now Korra was looking at him oddly, as if _he_ was the strange one. "She's a Polar-Bear Dog."

Well, that just raised more questions than it answered.

Naruto decided to just go with it for now and chalked the animal up to something in this world that Tenzin hadn't felt the need to explain to him.

Cautiously holding out his hand for the animal, Naruto said, "Nice to meet you?" feeling more than a little embarrassed, both about his near slip-up and the situation he was currently in.

Naga approached his hand and sniffed at it for a short while, before moving up to him and... licking his face, as if she really were a dog.

"Huh, guess she likes you." Korra stated, sounding a bit perplexed.

"Is that odd?" Naruto asked.

"Well no, but it usually takes her a bit longer to warm up to people she doesn't know."

"If you two don't mind, we really must be going," Tenzin spoke up, though he looked and sounded highly amused.

"Oh, right! Naga, stay!" Korra said, and the Polar-Bear Dog did as she was told, while the others moved on. Naruto still didn't know what to make of what he had just seen.

After a few more minutes of walking in silence, Naruto decided to ask about something that had been in the back of his mind the whole time.

"So, Tenzin, what did you mean when you said people wanted to see me?"

Turning back to face him, Tenzin replied, though not without warmth, "The people you saved the other night."

"Oh." Naruto wasn't sure how to react to that. Yeah, had saved civilians during the war, but that had been part of his job, what shinobi were expected to do. Not that he still hadn't been thanked for it every now and then, but this was different, and he wasn't really sure that he was entirely comfortable with it.

The war had taught him the value of anonymity, especially with just about the whole of the Akatsuki out for him, and Naruto wasn't sure how he would react if he was thrown into the spotlight again. But everything he had seen so far told him that these people honestly did want to help him, and his instincts were telling him that they could be trusted. And if nothing else, the war had taught Naruto to follow his instincts.

"By the way, Naruto, this area is where the Airbenders conduct their training, and I've managed to clear it for our use while we try to sort this situation out." At Naruto's nod, Tenzin turned to open the gate and let the two in, before he paused and turned to Naruto one last time. "Oh, and I would brace myself if I were you. Some of the people you're about to meet are... energetic."

Raising an eyebrow at this, and at Korra's muffled snort, Naruto followed Tenzin again, bracing himself for something that made Tenzin feel the need to warn him about.

Whatever he had prepared himself for, it wasn't the almost immediate barrage of questions from the little girl that jumped at him the moment she saw him.

"Hi! What's your name? Where did you come from? Are you an Airbender? Where did you learn it? Did somebody teach you to Airbend? Can you teach anyone else? Can you..." Naruto tried to keep up, he really did, but he eventually lost track of all the rapid-fire questions, and could only stare blankly when the girl finally stopped, looking up at him expectantly.

"... Could you repeat that?"

The awkward moment (for Naruto) was broken by the sound of Pema's warm laughter. "She's just happy to meet you."

Glancing in her direction, Naruto was now able to take in all the people who had gathered in the area before him.

Not counting himself, Korra and Tenzin, there were five others, though three of them were young children.

Pema was there of course, and Naruto could vaguely recognize the children as the ones he had seen during his fight with that Earthbender (at least an Earthbender according to Tenzin), but the last woman was new.

She had a hard face, black hair that was tinged with grey, and piercing, intelligent green eyes. She had two scars running down the lower right side of her face that she could have only gotten in some kind of fight, and she carried herself with the bearings of a woman who was used to giving orders and having those orders obeyed.

This woman reminded him of Ibiki Morino.

Naruto liked her immediately.

Or he would have liked her, if she wasn't staring at him as if she couldn't decide whether to stand back and let him be, or apprehend him on the spot.

"So this is your 'guest,' Tenzin?"

Tenzin gave a tired sigh. "Yes, Lin, this is Naruto, and he's the one who saved Pema and probably a great many more last night."

The woman looked nonplussed, and despite his training, Naruto found that he couldn't read her facial expression or her body language at all.

The three children, on the other hand, were staring at him with stars in their eyes, though the eldest -a girl who couldn't be more than twelve or eleven, at most- was able to restrain herself slightly better.

They looked like they were about to say something, before Tenzin, who Naruto could only assume was their father, interrupted.

"Well, let me start the introductions before we begin. You know my wife, Pema." Naruto gave her a smile, and Pema smiled back. "This is Lin Beifong, she's the Chief of Republic City's Police Force." Well, that made sense, her bearing just screamed "authority." Naruto gave her a small, formal bow, and she responded with a short nod of her own, still regarding him suspiciously. "And these are my children, Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo." Ikki and Meelo gave him large smiles and waved excitedly while Jinora simply smiled and attempted to mimic the bow he had given Lin, though she didn't pull it off very well. Naruto still smiled and returned the bow regardless.

"Once our final guest gets here, we can get this meeting on the way."

Giving Naruto one last glare, Lin said, "Tenzin, we need to talk." before she grabbed Tenzin's shoulder and moved the two of them over to a more isolated spot, while Pema walked over to Naruto, actually excited to properly meet him.

"I'm glad you're alright, Naruto."

Naruto shot her a fox-like grin. "It'll take more than that to put _me_ down!"

Pema laughed lightly, enjoying the boy's enthusiasm. "Glad to hear it."

Giving her children one more look, mixed with fondness and exasperation, Pema knew that if she didn't do something soon, the three would probably burst from their excitement.

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, Naruto, but I _really_ think you should say something to these ones soon."

Naruto turned to the children, still staring at him with wide eyes. "Uh... hi?"

He was rewarded with another barrage of questions from Ikki.

000

Korra smiled as she watched Naruto interact with the children, taking on a somewhat blank look while he appeared to just be watching Ikki's mouth move.

She was a little put off at essentially being ignored and left to herself, but watching this was worth it.

She had never seen the three so taken with someone they had just met. While they were, as a whole, friendly, like with Naga, it usually took them a little bit of time to get a feel for a new person. They seemed to have no such problem with Naruto, though Korra was willing to bet that knowing that he had saved their mother's life was at least part of the reason. Another part would be knowing that he was some kind of _Airbender_. Heck, Korra still couldn't wrap her mind around that one herself, but if Ikki was to be believed, Naruto could somehow actually _cut_ with the air!

She was broken from her musings when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Councilor Tarrlok returning from wherever it was he had gone to, but Korra found herself much more interested in the three people that accompanied him.

Korra felt her jaw almost go slack. "You guys were with _him_ the entire time!?"

"Yes...?" Bolin said, trailing off uncertainly.

"_Why?"_

"Because I asked them to," Tarrlok replied.

Forcefully calming herself, Korra asked, "Why did you want to see them?"

Raising an eyebrow, Tarrlok answered. "Because, as you are likely the person affected the most by this, I felt the people around you deserved to have some idea of what's going on as well."

"So you left me by myself for over an hour?" While Korra appreciated Tarrlok's idea, it would have been nice if he had told her about it.

Now Tarrlok just smiled indulgently at her. "Patience is a virtue, my young Avatar."

Taking a deep breath, Korra managed to get her frustration back under control.

"So," Tarrlok started, looking over at Naruto, "I would imagine that this is our guest?"

Korra nodded as the groups attention was drawn to him. "Yes, his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto Uzumaki?" Asami repeated, a spark of recognition showing in her eyes as she tested the name.

"Yes." Korra responded, wondering if Asami recognized the name.

"What's up Asami, you know him?" Bolin asked, voicing Korra's thoughts.

"No I don't know him," Asami replied, a small twinkle appearing in her eyes, "but I want to try something."

Saying this, she started walking over to Naruto, leaving the others to watch on curiously.

000

Naruto couldn't help but stare a little at the young woman who was approaching him. By almost any standard, she was beautiful. Wavy, raven-black hair that reached down to a little past her shoulders, odd, green eyes of a shade that he had never seen before, with a classical facial structure, she looked like she had just walked out of a movie. However, she had a bright, warm smile that dispelled any feelings of her being shallow or fake, and Naruto found he was impressed.

He was even more impressed when she gave him a formal bow and said, albeit haltingly, _"__Hajimemashite watashi wa Asami desu."_

Blinking a little, Naruto looked around at the others and saw them staring at the girl -Asami- in total confusion, though most of the adults managed to hide it. Shrugging their reactions off, Naruto smiled and returned the bow, answering in the same language, _"I'm fine, but I think we're confusing the others."_

Asami paused and looked around as well, blushing a little when she caught the questioning stares. "Oh! Uh... sorry about that."

_"Oh, don't apologize."_ Naruto told her, grinning widely when he saw the expressions on the others' faces.

"... I'm confused." This was from one of the other new arrivals, a boy around his age with black hair and green eyes, similar to Lin's.

"... I'll explain later," Asami told him, her blush fading.

The sound of Tenzin clearing his throat brought everyone's attention back to him. "Well, now that _we're all here,_" at this, Tenzin cast a disapproving look at Tarrlok, who either didn't notice or didn't care, "it is time we got this meeting underway."

"Of course," Tarrlok said politely. "But first, I believe some proper introductions are in order." Whether Tarrlok intended it or not, Asami flushed again at his words.

"Very well," Tenzin sighed heavily, "Naruto, this is Tarrlok, the Water Tribe Councilor in Republic City."

Locking eyes with him, Naruto gave yet another bow, saying, "Pleased to meet you, Councilor." The war had also taught him the value of proper etiquette, though some of the lessons had to be all but beaten into him.

"Oh, it's just Tarrlok. Plain, simple Tarrlok." He said mildly.

"Hi ponytail man!" Ikki exclaimed brightly, causing Tarrlok's eyebrow to twitch a little as he plastered a smile to his face.

"Right!" Korra started, now moving closer to Naruto as she seemed to take it upon herself to introduce her friends. "That's Bolin," she pointed at the boy with black hair and green eyes, who waved at Naruto, "Mako," now she pointed to a boy who looked a bit older and a good deal taller than Bolin, with the same black hair but eyes a golden color similar to Pema's, who simply nodded politely, "and I think you've already met Asami?" here, Korra trailed off at the end, still unsure of what precisely had happened.

"Nice to meet you all," Naruto said cheerfully, "The name's Naruto Uzumaki!"

With the exception of Lin, the others all relaxed a little at Naruto's bright attitude.

"Very well, then." Tenzin said, looking somewhat impatient to get started. _"Now_ we need to talk."

000

A while later, as the sun was beginning to set, Tenzin sighed tiredly as he sat in private at the Temple's Meditation Pavilion.

The meeting had gone well, better than he had expected, and they had worked out a reasonable plan for what they would do with Naruto.

Some of their problems had fairly simple solutions; they couldn't just let Naruto go into Republic City by himself when he didn't have a single Yuan to his name, or was unable to read even the simplest forms of their language, especially not after he had saved their family. So, for the time being, Naruto would remain at the Temple, at least until he could make a living for himself.

The greatest opposition of this plan had surprisingly come from Naruto himself, claiming that he wasn't "some damned freeloader," which had gotten him a mild rebuke from Pema.

This had actually given Tenzin the perfect opportunity to push his own idea, and the solution seemed to satisfy everyone. Well, almost everyone, as Lin was still a bit suspicious of the boy, though Tenzin could tell she was begrudgingly impressed by his attitude.

In exchange for Naruto being allowed to stay at the Temple, he would help Korra with her training. The others, with the possible exception of Korra, were somewhat skeptical about this, but after Tenzin had vouched for what he had glimpsed of Naruto's hand-to-hand abilities, they were willing to give him a chance, though Tarrlok insisted that Naruto and Korra spar at some point to see if Naruto was truly capable of teaching her anything. Naruto had bristled at that, and stated that he was willing to fight the Water Tribe Councilor right then and there. Tenzin had managed to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand, and in the end, they agreed that Naruto and Korra would have a spar on the Island's grounds by the end of the week, in order to give Naruto enough time to fully recover.

Asami had also had an idea of her own. Asami had explained to them that she and Naruto were speaking in an older dialect of the Fire Nation, one that was only really known to the scholars and enthusiasts, and her mother had fallen into the latter category, causing Asami to study the language herself as a way to get closer to her. If Naruto agreed to it, Asami said that she would be more than happy to help him learn to read their language by using the old dialect. Although he had seemed a bit embarrassed, Naruto eventually did agree, probably knowing that he wouldn't get very far anywhere if he didn't at least know the basics.

While he still did not like it, they had decided to tell the children and Korra's friends some of what was going on, and parts of why Naruto was here.

They didn't know of Naruto's full abilities just yet; Tenzin felt it would be best to let Naruto decide when to reveal those. But they did know that Naruto played a major role in protecting the Temple the other night, and that just about every soul there probably owed him their lives. For the moment, that seemed good enough for them.

It was tentative at this point, but Tenzin was satisfied with the arrangement that they had been able to work out, and he was truly excited to see more of what Naruto was capable of (Tenzin was especially eager to learn how the boy had managed to stick himself to the wall).

"Hi, dad," he heard Jinora say off to his side as she walked over to him.

"What is it, Jinora?" Tenzin knew that she probably wanted to talk about Naruto. Although the children had not seen him use the odd Earth technique, they did see him use the Air ability, and so they were naturally curious about it.

"It's about Naruto," she started without preamble, wanting to get answers to her questions as soon as possible.

"What about him?"

"...Do you know if he likes any books?"

_What? _Tenzin hadn't been expecting that, and now he turned his full attention to his eldest child.

"I have no idea."

Jinora pouted for a moment, before she started again.

"Do you know if he plays any Pai Sho?"

If Jinora didn't have his attention before, she definitely did now, and Tenzin couldn't help but feel a slight chill race down his spine as an idea slowly formed.

"...No. Jinora," he started cautiously, "why are you asking this?"

"Well," Jinora started, and Tenzin could swear she was blushing a little, "He _is_ kind of cute."

Oh, _Spirits,_ no!

000

In his new (temporary) quarters in the boy's dormitories, Naruto allowed himself to truly relax for the first time since he had awoken in this world.

The meeting had been interesting, and he was looking forward to his spar with Korra by the week's end.

In the meantime, Naruto would be spending his time between training his body and chakra supply back into shape. Not to mention learning the basic history of this world from Pema, the current situation from Tenzin, and how to read their language with Asami. He had been especially pleased when he had learned that someone spoke his own language, though he did wonder about it, because it just didn't seem possible.

Well, worrying about it wouldn't help him any, though Naruto would be sure to keep it in mind and maybe look into it at a later time.

Despite the long day, Naruto went to sleep smiling. If nothing else, this place was interesting.

000

**For those of you wondering the pharse that Asami said translates to "How do you do? I'm Asami." I apologize if the translation/greeting is inaccurate.**

**I have always been curious that Asami and Hiroshi have names that sounded so Japanese, when just about everything else in the Avatar world is more Chinese. So, here, I decided to do something about it.**

**I know this chapter is somewhat short, but chapter 5 is already in the works, and it's shaping up to be a bit longer!**


	7. A New World

**Disclaimer: **_**Naruto**_** and **_**The Legend of Korra**_** belong solely to their respective owners.**

**AN: I know that the last few chapters have been a bit slow, but that was out of necessity. However, the pace should start to pick up from here on out.**

**One more thing: you'll notice that the jutsus are now in Japanese. This was intentional and had been planned.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, or just plain read the story!**

**Thanks again to Vandenbz for proofreading this chapter!**

**Chapter 5: A New World  
**

It had been four days since Naruto had woken up, and he had become a bit more familiar with the new world he had found himself in.

The time had gone about as smoothly as could be expected, given that something like this had probably never happened before. In _either _world.

Naruto didn't know any of them very well yet, but the people he had met on this island had so far seemed nice enough. He and Korra hadn't interacted much beyond basic conversations, but Naruto actually found comfort in something that was close to normality. Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo seemed to like him well enough. The guards, which he had learned belonged to an organization called the 'White Lotus,' still seemed leery around him, but Naruto couldn't really blame them for it. They were just doing their jobs.

He had had no idea what to expect when he had sat down with Pema for her first "history lesson," but he wasn't looking forward to it. Naruto had always hated studying history while he was in the academy.

If he had to be honest with himself, the things that Pema had told him were more than a little disconcerting.

A _century_ of war. It just didn't seem possible. How could any one nation, regardless of size or power, actually gather enough resources to wage a full-scale war for _a hundred years?_

Naruto was no strategist -that had always been Shikamaru's thing- but even he knew that if any one of the major Hidden Villages back home had attempted something like that, they would have eventually collapsed in on themselves, unable to support such a prolonged engagement.

For his own peace of mind if nothing else, Naruto had decided that it would be best to not concentrate so much on the topic, and focus on other things instead.

Like his first session with Asami the other day. Naruto personally thought that it had gone well, but Asami had still seemed a bit shaken afterwards...

_Their first session would be somewhere secluded, private. While Naruto was gradually adjusting, it was all still new to him, and he hadn't yet gotten comfortable enough to trust everyone on the island._

_Pema had understood, and had been nice enough to find a small clearing, far enough out of the way that the two wouldn't be bothered unless it was necessary._

_Asami had brought multiple scrolls with her, some written in her own language, the others written in Naruto's. She was hoping that by trying to find some similarities between their languages, she and Naruto could find a good starting point and work up from there._

_Smiling warmly at Naruto, Asami said, "Well, I think we should get started."_

_Naruto agreed instantly, mainly because he wanted to get at least the basics down as soon as possible. Plus, this was starting to feel a little too much like homework, another thing he had come to hate at the academy. _

_"So, what do we do?"_

_After Asami explained her plan, Naruto brightened, already knowing how he could speed the process up._

_He quickly created four shadow clones, which then grabbed most of the scrolls and carried them off, setting themselves in various positions around the area. Hearing something that could best be described as a "squeak," Naruto glanced over at Asami to see that she was staring at the clones in shock, eyes a good three times larger than normal, her mouth opening and closing a few times, but no words coming out._

_"What _was _that?" she finally managed after a few more moments._

_Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Naruto said, "Yeah, that's the __Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)__. Basically, it allows me to create solid copies of myself that are capable of somewhat independent thought. Once they're dispelled, I can absorb all of their memories as if I had experienced them for myself. This way, I should be able to learn your language a lot quicker."_

_When Asami said nothing else, still staring blankly at the clones, Naruto chuckled to himself as he waited for her to break out of her stupor._

_"C-could you please excuse me for a moment, Naruto?"_

_At Naruto's answering nod, Asami jumped up and rushed out of sight, looking for a place where she could properly... 'express' her current thoughts and not worry about anybody overhearing her._

Tenzin had also told Naruto about the attack when he had woken up, and after learning just the basics about these "Equalists," Naruto could understand why they would want to give Korra as much help as possible. Besides, Naruto still owed her his life, and Naruto Uzumaki always repaid his debts.

At the moment, Naruto was standing in the large lake-like area near the bottom of the island. He was currently facing a large outcropping of rocks and boulders of various sizes, placed there by him for his 'experiments.'

"_Shinkujin (Vacuum Blade)!"_ Naruto channeled his chakra through the kunai in his hand, in the same way he had during the attack, and slashed it, watching as the jutsu cut several inches into the boulders and blew some other debris around, but did no more.

Before he had come here, that same tactic would have absolutely demolished the targeted area, reduced chakra or not, so something wasn't right.

He had noticed the same weakness during the attack on the Temple as well, but he was too distracted at the time to be able to do anything about it.

Yes, that earthbender was strong, one of the strongest men that Naruto had ever fought, but he still shouldn't have been able to just shrug off a _Shinkujin (Vacuum Blade)_ like that. Naruto had seen that attack used to its full potential, and it had been able to plow through solid stone like it wasn't even there. In that case, either the earthbender had been ludicrously tough, or it was something on _his _end.

If it was the latter, the problem had to be something with his chakra.

Focusing, Naruto looked within himself, and tried to take stock of the amount of chakra he had at the moment, as compared to what he had during the Akatsuki War.

There was definitely more than a "quarter." In fact, it was probably around the same amount it had been during Pein's invasion.

But that didn't make any sense.

If his chakra supply was the same as it had always been, what was the problem?

_"... I have been able to restore a small quarter of your chakra, but no more..."_ Naruto could clearly remember what Raven had said, but he still had way more than a mere quarter of his chakra, so maybe Raven was referring to something else...

Unbidden, Naruto's mind flashed back to the final battle of the Akatsuki War, and the plan he and Kurama had come up with to finish it.

It had been actually been fairly simple, all things considered.

Madara Uchiha had been unbelievably powerful, and it would take one hell of a jutsu to put him down for good. In addition, by the end of the war, Naruto was the only Jinchuuriki left, the only thing that was standing between Madara restoring the Ten Tails, and the Alliance was getting more and more desperate as the war went on.

So, Naruto and Kurama had come to their solution: sacrifice.

They would merge all of their energy into one single attack, and even if Madara was still alive by the time it was over, Naruto and Kurama would be out of his reach. They knew that they would both die in the process, but Madara wouldn't win either way.

The technique Naruto would use was, of course, the _Rasengan_. 

Or at least, it had started out as the _Rasengan,_ but once Kurama had started to add his own youkai to the attack as well, it had almost become something else entirely.

And Naruto suspected that it was responsible for his skewed chakra supply.

The _Kyuukyoku Rasengan (Final Rasengan)_had been formed by his and Kurama's energies combined, and it had been one of the most powerful techniques ever used in the history of the Elemental Nations. Compared to that, just about any other amount of chakra would be insignificant. Even if he had retained a tiny fraction, Naruto would still be at _at least_ a low jonin level.

But that didn't answer his other problem; why were his jutsu so _weak?_

Perhaps it had something to do with the absence of Kurama. After all, despite everything, the Fox had been a virtually limitless supply of chakra for Naruto's entire life. But that supply had come with a cost. Because of his massive chakra network, Naruto's chakra control was something close to that of a genin. Before it had never been a problem; he could just force as much chakra as possible into whatever jutsu he was currently using, and it had worked just fine for him, as long as he stuck to the higher-level jutsus. But if Kurama wasn't supplying him with more chakra to replenish afterwards now, then Naruto would have to rely wholly on his own reserves, something that he was completely unfamiliar with.

It was strange, now that he thought about it. Naruto had been a Jinchuuriki for his entire life, and while he had never truly liked it, he had come to accept it. But now that the Fox was gone, Naruto felt oddly... empty. As if he had lost a vital part of himself.

But Naruto still seemed to have some remnants of the Fox within him, the most obvious one being his healing factor, albeit at a greatly reduced rate.

His jutsus and other abilities remained mostly unchanged.

He could still use _Senjutsu (Sage Techniques)_, though for some reason it was a bit more difficult to activate than it had been before. His _Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Jutsu_ was as strong as ever -their work with Asami's scrolls had proven that- but now it was a great deal more draining to create a horde of them at once.

Not that shadow clones still couldn't be used in combat; far from it. If anything, they were even stronger. During the war, Naruto had learned that if he created less clones, they could store more chakra, and thus they would last longer in combat. Simply put, the fewer clones Naruto created, the more damage they could take. Before, he wouldn't have been able to do so because of his chakra control, but maybe now it would come easier for him.

But he had to be sure any of this was true before he did anything else.

Preparing himself again, Naruto concentrated, sending only a small trickle of chakra to the kunai, rather than the river that he had been using earlier. "_Shinkujin (Vacuum Blade)!_" This time, the cuts in the boulders were much deeper, almost going all the way through, though they weren't as numerous, and there was a good deal less collateral damage.

So, it seemed that Naruto would have to 'relearn' most of his jutsus if he wanted them to be effective, and he wouldn't be able to just create a hundred clones to do it within a day. That was fine with him; Naruto always had liked a challenge.

Knowing that his spar with Korra would be coming within two days, Naruto set himself to work.

000

The last two days had passed quickly, and Naruto now found himself staring down Korra, who was standing a few yards away from him as they waited for the fight to begin.

The two were standing in a hastily prepared ring, similar to the area where the airbenders trained, only without the odd contraption in the center.

The spectators were standing to the side; Tarrlok, Tenzin and his family, and Korra's friends. Technically, Asami, Bolin, and Mako weren't supposed to be here, but Asami had insisted, apparently dragging the other two along with her as well.

Standing on the other side of the ring was Lin, who would be acting as the judge for the spar.

"This will be a one-on-one fight. The first to fighter to force their opponent to yield wins." When Naruto and Korra signaled that they understood, Lin brought her hand down.

"Begin!"

Naruto charged immediately, having no intention of letting Korra make the first move.

However, he was forced back by the sudden mass of fire emerging from Korra's hands.

Smirking at Naruto's surprised look, Korra taunted, "You didn't think it was gonna be _that_ easy, did you?" before she renewed her assault.

Naruto was officially impressed.

She was _good._ Her stance was near perfect; her attacks fast, strong, and precise. Naruto was hard-pressed to dodge them, and he found himself grinning in anticipation of what would he could tell was going to be a good fight.

Still, the fire blasts Korra was sending at him made closing the distance between them difficult, and any long-range attacks that Naruto had were meant to kill, not disable, so he couldn't use those, meaning he had a rather serious handicap in this fight.

In that case, he would just have to be creative.

Grinning again as he evaded another fireball, Naruto brought his hands up, fingers crossed in an x, shouting "Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Jutsu!"and with six puffs of smoke, six exact copies of Naruto joined the battle.

Korra froze and stared at the six new opponents in momentary shock. She had heard of the Shadow Clones from Asami, but this was the first time that she had actually seen the technique in action, and to be honest, a part of her had thought that Asami had been exaggerating. The clones (and Naruto himself) took advantage of Korra's pause instantly, rushing in towards her from all directions, some of the clones purposefully lagging behind the others so they wouldn't reach Korra at the same time.

Korra recovered quickly enough, snapping back and launching a shot directly at the nearest Naruto, coming in from her right side, causing it to burst into smoke on contact.

Then, Korra jumped into the air, using her momentum to spin, before she struck out with a kick and created a powerful arc of fire, dispelling three clones on her left, leaving only two clones and the original Naruto to deal with.

Almost immediately after she landed, one of the clones rushed Korra from behind and grabbed her in an arm lock, while another charged her from the front, preparing to deliver a beating to her vulnerable stomach.

Crouching down, Korra used the ground below her right foot as a makeshift springboard, launching herself _through_ the clone that was holding her and simultaneously turning her jump into a flip, using her other foot to send a single blast at the other clone rushing to her, destroying it as well.

Taking a brief moment to catch her breath once she had landed again, Korra's eyes darted around the field, trying to spot the original Naruto so she could finish the fight.

She couldn't see him anywhere. It was as if he had disappeared altogether. But the area that they were fighting in was totally clear; no rocks, no trees, virtually nothing that could be used for concealment, so where-

At that moment, the ground before her exploded, and Korra barely managed to jump away in time to avoid the original Naruto as he burst out from where he had been waiting. As it was, Korra could still feel the air separated from where Naruto's outstretched fist had missed her by mere centimeters.

When they separated, Naruto smirked triumphantly; now it got fun.

Korra was without a doubt a very skilled bender, but he was willing to bet that as a result, her non-bending related abilities were lacking slightly, and now they would be too close to each other for bending to be effective.

With this in mind, Naruto charged towards her again, rearing his fist back to launch the first of a series of light punches much like his clone had been preparing to earlier, confident that Korra wouldn't be able to dodge all of them.

He was half-right; she _absorbed_ the attacks instead.

Korra's stance had changed completely. Where before she had kept herself loose, making fast and accurate strikes, now she was rooting herself to the ground, arms crossed in front of her, bearing the brunt of Naruto's fists and allowing her legs to absorb the rest of the impact.

When Naruto's attack had finished, he dropped back a little to give himself more room to attack again, and in that instant, Korra struck, lashing out with a swift low-kick aimed at his knee, forcing Naruto to give even more ground.

It was just enough ground for Korra, who charged _him_ now, switching effortlessly from the style she had used to block his punches to the one she had used when firebending, though she didn't actually use any fire this time.

Now, Naruto was on the defensive, giving more and more ground in the face of Korra's unexpected assault. It ended when, right as Korra struck out with another punch aimed at his face, Naruto grabbed her fist instead of blocking or dodging it, before throwing a counterpunch, which Korra barely managed to catch as well. The two grappled with one another, each trying and failing to gain the upper hand.

The struggle was broken when Naruto abruptly released Korra's fist, causing her to stumble forward slightly, and he used the opportunity to launch a knee strike into her gut. Korra managed use her hands to block it in time before she pushed Naruto away and jumped back to gain some distance.

The two paused for a few moments, staring each other down. Naruto was only slightly winded, but Korra was panting heavily, beads of sweat pouring down her face, as they both waited for the other to make the next move.

Naruto was the one to break the lull, rushing forward and creating two more clones that charged on Korra's left and right sides.

But Korra wouldn't fall for this again; she knew that the Naruto in the center was the original, and she shot off a fire blast at him, certain that the other two clones would disperse once he had been taken down.

So, she was surprised when her target disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Eyes widening, Korra quickly turned to the closest Naruto, the one on the left, and dispatched it in the same manner as she had the last one.

When the clone burst into smoke like the others had, Korra knew there could only be the original left.

She tried to turn to where she had last seen him, only to feel a presence from behind her, and the cool touch of metal on the back of her neck.

When she felt Naruto move a little closer, Korra's eyes were drawn to the odd knife that he was holding, now held a few inches from her jugular, and she knew the match was over.

Naruto grinned widely. "Kawarimi (Substitution), a Shinobi's best friend!"

Letting out a sigh at her loss, but not really that upset about it, Korra nodded shortly, announcing, "I yield!"

When she was answered by dead silence, Naruto and Korra paused and turned to Lin in confusion.

They were both rather surprised to see the older woman just... standing there, with no particular expression on her face to give away any of her emotions, though her eyes were a good deal wider than usual. It seemed she had literally been shocked into immobility.

Taking a further look around, the other spectators weren't in much better shape.

Pema, of course, was handling it the best, since she had seen many of the abilities Naruto used first-hand, though she still seemed awed. Tenzin would have come in second, as he had already had a -very- general idea of what Naruto was capable of, and for the most part seemed to be taking it in stride. Tarrlok would have come in third, his face completely neutral save for his raised eyebrow. Asami was also taking it rather calmly, having at least seen Naruto use the Shadow Clones. The others weren't nearly as composed. Bolin's jaw was hanging so low that Korra was honestly worried that it might hit the ground. Mako was trying to keep himself together, but failing miserably. The children, on the other hand, could barely restrain themselves. Jinora had a gleam in her eye that Naruto recognized as eagerness to learn something new, something he himself had become very familiar with from his years of friendship with Sakura. In contrast, Ikki and Meelo were all but bouncing on their feet. Remembering his own temperament at their ages, Naruto could only assume that they were just excited by what they had seen.

"Um, Naruto... c-could you let go of me?" Korra eventually got out, a slight flush coming to her cheeks.

Confused, Naruto looked over to her, reddening himself when he realized what she meant. Naruto was still holding the kunai to Korra's throat, but in order to do so, he had to get very close to her, leaving their bodies pressed extremely close to each other.

With a jolt, Naruto released her, stepping back and desperately racking his brain for another topic. "So... guess I win?" Korra didn't answer, her face still red.

This was enough shake Lin out of her daze. "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

There was more silence for a moment, before the children rushed over and started talking over each other.

"COOL!" Meelo yelled, trying to imitate Naruto's movements as he created the Shadow Clones.

"Mister Uzumaki, I was wonder-" Jinora started, before she was interrupted by Ikki.

"-Can you do that anytime you want? Can they do anything? Can they do your chores? Can they..." and she started in on another large set of questions, all revolving around the clones, oblivious to the annoyed glare her older sister shot her.

The children were all cut short when they saw Naruto turn to Tarrlok, who had just approached. "Satisfied?"

"Very." Tarrlok replied, smiling. "You've more than proven yourself. It seems I had underestimated you." There was no hint of apology in his tone; Tarrlok was simply stating a fact.

"How did you do that?" This was from Mako, as the others had walked over to the two of them at this point.

"Not telling." Naruto answered, holding back a smirk as the other boy's eyebrow started twitching. They seemed nice enough, but Naruto wasn't going to just tell them _everything _right off the bat. There wouldn't be any fun in that.

"Yes, well, I'm sure we can get down to how it was done in good time," Tarrlok began, "but for now, I believe we need to discuss what to do next. Now, this is a rather private matter, so if you all wouldn't mind?" Here, he gave the others a significant look, and while they didn't seem to like it, they acquiesced and left, Korra's friends following Pema as she lead her children back to the dining hall.

Once Lin and Tenzin had approached them, Tarrlok turned to the group again. "It seems we have much to discuss."

000

When the impromptu meeting was finished, Naruto, Korra and Tenzin returned to the Air Temple, finding everyone much calmer than they had been after the fight, though Ikki, Meelo, and Jinora were still extremely excited.

Eventually, Naruto had promised the children that he would let them watch when he explained the process to Korra for her training. Although chakra and chi might not have been the same thing, Naruto felt that they were at least similar, and in theory, with enough practice, a person who used chi might be able to manipulate it in the same way that a shinobi could manipulate chakra. It would probably be a great deal more complex than that, but Naruto felt it was at least worth trying.

However, Naruto had one other surprise in store for him.

For the past week, he had essentially been detained in the Air Temple. Oh, sure, he was no prisoner, but given the circumstances of his arrival, the White Lotus was hesitant to let Naruto out of their sight so soon.

But now, after his spar with Korra, and knowing that Naruto would be aiding in her training, the White Lotus had become a lot more lenient.

The next day, Naruto would be visiting Republic City.

XXX

The place was _huge_. Naruto had never seen anything like it in his life.

It was almost overwhelming, and Naruto had to work hard to be sure that he didn't just halt in his tracks and gape like an idiot. There was an incredible amount of people here, all moving about in various directions as they went about their lives. Just about everything he could see was at least three times the size of any of their equivalents in the Elemental Nations, and in the first few minutes he was in the city, Naruto could tell that there were more people in this city than in most of the Hidden Villages combined.

The air had an odd tinge to it that Naruto had never smelt before, though it came close to some of the other villages he had visited during the war, mixed with other various scents of day-to-day city life.

The clothing style was also new to him, made up of various styles and colors, some even brighter than the orange jumpsuit he had worn in his genin days, and others as dark and neutral as the loaners he was wearing at the moment.

The sight of the sheer height of some of the taller buildings in the city initially took his breath away. They were arranged all throughout the city, only the very tallest of them having any type of conformity to their architectural styles. It was these behemoths that puzzled him the most; no Hidden Village would ever build such things, they would only serve as one big bull's-eye to any invading force. Apparently, that wasn't as big of a concern here.

He could also see many wagon-like vehicles roaming on the streets, though they didn't seem to need anything to pull them forward.

When he saw the massive shadow moving across the ground, Naruto craned his neck so far upwards that he was distantly worried that he would break it, but all of that worry vanished as soon as he saw the large... _thing_ floating high above the city. It appeared to mostly be made out of metal, with multiple turbine-like devices that seemed to allow it to move. While Naruto was vaguely familiar with flight craft, they had only been small, single-man gliders, nothing on this scale, and he could see other crafts like this one scattered throughout the city.

Walking beside him, Korra must have picked up on his amazement, because after a few more moments, she said teasingly, "Impressive place isn't it?"

Naruto had no idea how to respond, so he just kept his mouth shut and nodded.

Korra chuckled and smiled warmly. "You'll get used to it. You should have seen _me_ when I first came here." She was honestly surprised that Naruto was taking it all in as well as he was.

"So, where are we going, exactly?"

In response, Korra only smiled wider. "You'll see."

XXX

A short walk later, Korra eventually brought Naruto to their destination, one of the first places that she had seen the first time she had come to the city: Republic City Park.

It was breathtaking.

The park honestly reminded Naruto of home- not just his own world, but of Konoha.

Small hills, trees placed all over, their leaves all in various different colors, multiple bridges scattered around, providing ways to cross the river that made its way through the park.

The first impression Naruto felt when he saw the park was one of harmony, peacefulness.

It seemed almost out of place when compared to the metropolis surrounding it, but somehow, the park felt like it belonged here anyway.

"So, what do you think?" Korra asked, eager to hear Naruto's thoughts on what, in her opinion, was one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Taking another look around, Naruto decided to speak his honest opinion. "It's beautiful."

Korra smiled again -she found herself doing that a lot whenever Naruto was around- and nodded. "That it is."

Leading Naruto further in, she brought them to the edge of the river, and sat down on the bank. Naruto followed her example, and the two sat in silence for a moment, each just taking in the view of the city before them.

Naruto still couldn't quite believe it- Republic City was far beyond anything that had been built in the Elemental Nations, and even he could appreciate the effort that must have been put into creating it. The fact that it was all built without the use of chakra was mind-boggling.

"How do you like Republic City?" Korra said at last, turning to fully face Naruto.

Naruto paused a bit, trying to gather his thoughts before giving up and shaking his head; he didn't have the words to fully describe his impressions. "It's amazing. There's nothing like it back home."

Now Korra's interest was piqued. "And what's your home like?" It was something Korra had been wondering ever since the night she pulled Naruto out of the ocean- she had just never had an opportunity to ask until now.

"It's nothing like this. It's a lot smaller, way less people, and it doesn't have anything like _that_-" here, Naruto pointed at one of the wagons on the outskirts of the park, causing Korra to chuckle. "That's a car, Naruto."

Nodding, Naruto continued, "Or that," pointing up to one of the -many- aircraft floating above the city.

Korra answered again. "That's a police airship. They use it to patrol the city."

Naruto shook his head again. "It's just a lot to take in, that's all."

Korra decided to try and dig a little deeper. "So, Naruto, what were you doing before you came here?" Korra wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the sudden shadows in Naruto's eyes, so unlike the behavior she had come to associate with him, worried her.

"Something unpleasant." Was his only answer, before he seemed to lose himself in his thoughts, or more likely his memories, descending into silence again.

Still concerned about the sudden shift in Naruto's attitude, Korra tried to change the subject.

"Have you by any chance heard of Pro-bending?"

Naruto paused, thinking back over the last week. "I think I heard you mention it. You said you, Bolin and Mako were on some kind of team?"

Korra nodded proudly. "Yep, the Fire Ferrets, that's us!"

"What about it?" Naruto asked curiously, his somewhat darker memories now forgotten.

"Well," here Korra paused, suddenly feeling nervous for some reason, "the Championship match is tonight, and I thought that since you've been cooped up in the Temple for the last week, maybe you'd like to come watch?"

Now Naruto paused. He had never been invited to something like this before. Not that he didn't have any friends before he came to this world, it was just that he had never cared for the kind of sporting events that Konoha had hosted when he was young, and once the war began he had been too busy to think much about them. After the chunin exams, any other kind of regulated sport tended to lose its impact. But on the other hand, this particular sport did sound kind of interesting, and he knew that Asami would be there as well, so he at least wouldn't be there by himself. And he didn't really have anything else planned.

Giving Korra a grin, Naruto said, "I'll be there."

000

It was time. After all the years they had spent preparing, now they could finally bring the fight right to their enemies' front door.

The Equalist soldier knew that tonight would be their first step.

Yes, Amon hadn't actually _ordered_ this attack, but it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. They would never get a better chance than this. Besides, once the Avatar was dead, Amon wouldn't care about a little insubordination.

As the lights in the stadium blazed into the night, and the five man squad of Equalists -all non-benders, the soldier was pleased to note- prepared, he felt a smirk grow from behind his mask.

This would be the last good day Republic City would have for a long time.

000

If nothing else, the seats were good. One of the perks of knowing the team in the final round.

Asami was sitting next to him, one of the loudest supporters of the Fire Ferrets, though Naruto was interested to note that she seemed to focus on Mako the most.

Naruto hadn't really known what to expect, but he was interested in what he had seen of the sport so far.

Though it was difficult, Naruto was eventually able to tune out the commentator, his trained eyes easily able to keep up with the lightning-fast movements of the competitors in the ring.

It was certainly not going well for the Fire Ferrets.

They had been utterly crushed during the first round, but apparently that had been because the opposing team the Woflbats, used various illegal moves to secure their victory, something that was frustrating Tenzin to no end. Naruto himself didn't really care about "illegal moves" either way; if anything, back home, they would have been encouraged, or there simply wouldn't have been any illegal moves at all.

But he was disturbed by the idea of the referees being paid off, something that he had heard Tenzin beside them proclaim in frustration. The pro-bending tournament might not have had such serious consequences, but if one of the proctors in something like the chunin exams had accepted bribes... Naruto really didn't want to think about what would have happened.

However, the Fire Ferrets had managed to pull it together in the second round. It seemed that they had decided to "play fair." It wouldn't have been Naruto's first choice, but he was impressed that they were still able to win regardless.

The Wolfbats were the team to lose the first member, courtesy of Mako's fire blast.

Mako then found himself on the defensive, ducking in order to evade the disk sent from the Wolfbats' earthbender. He was able to dodge it successfully, but was still knocked out by Tahno's water blast.

This was met by immediate retaliation from Korra and Bolin, who both targeted the earthbender together, knocking him out of the ring as well.

Before they could turn their attention to Tahno, the waterbender sent a large stream of water at Bolin, snap-freezing it the moment before it made contact, and Bolin was thrown into the water below.

This left only Korra and Tahno in the ring, and whoever won this round would win their team the tournament.

Tahno may have been a moderately skilled bender, but he was nowhere near Korra's level, and being pushed back bit by bit, with little opportunity to launch a counterattack.

Now, Tahno had been forced back into the third zone, hanging on by a thread, and one more solid hit from Korra would finish it-

The red side of the ring exploded, and the crowd in the stands erupted into panic.

The glass ceiling burst, raining down broken shards as the squad of five Equalists swooped down from the roof, heading right for Korra.

XXX

Most of the civilians in the stands had the good sense to get the hell out of the arena the instant the first explosion went off. In fact, it was the downright rational thing to do. Naruto did the opposite; he charged straight towards the fighting.

Without pausing, Naruto jumped when he reached the edge of the stands, impossibly carrying himself all the way to the arena in the middle of the stadium. That he managed to land right on top of the Equalist furthest from Korra provided quite the distraction, which she exploited as much as possible, sending a stream of water at the Equalist on her right while she also launched a rock disk at the one on her left, knocking them both out of the arena and leaving only two more to worry about.

However, these last two proved to be a bit more resourceful than the other three. Instead of rushing Korra head-on like their colleagues had, they decided to combine their strength, focusing on one opponent before they moved onto the next one.

For all the good it did them, they may as well have just followed the example of the others and hoped for the best.

Naruto blurred forward in a burst of speed, thrusting his fist into one Equalist's stomach, sending him flying clear across the arena, where he actually seemed to stick to the wall he slammed into for a brief moment before falling into the water.

Korra took care of the last remaining enemy, sending a huge torrent of water his way. He managed to doge- only for Korra's elbow to slam into his gut, knocking the wind out of him, before a follow up-blow to his head put him down.

The entire exchange, from the first explosion to when the last Equalist fell, had taken less than a minute.

Naruto couldn't help himself. "You were right, Korra! This sport is _awesome_!"

The look that Korra gave him, like she was torn between chewing him out and laughing with him, would later become one of Naruto's fondest memories.

000

**Okay, just to be clear, though it should be obvious by this point: I am not going to be following canon. Maybe I should have put this in the first chapter? Oh, well, what's done is done. However, I will make an effort to include canon events as much as possible.**

**So, about Naruto's power level... got you? He is just as strong as he was during Pein's invasion, the only problem is that his chakra control has been shot to hell, and Naruto is going to have to work in order for it to be effective. Think of certain video games, where you start out strong, but then some story event happens that weakens you, and you have to spend the rest of the game rebuilding your abilities to what they were in the beginning (looking at **_**you, **_**God of War****).**

**Hope you all enjoyed the spar, it was really fun to write!**

**Till next time!**


	8. Training Begins

**Chapter 6: Training Begins**

**Disclaimer: See Prologue**

**Well, here's the new chapter! Sorry about the wait, I just wanted to be sure that everything flowed together right. Hope you all enjoy it!**

**As always, thanks to all those who have taken an interest in this story!**

**Again, special thanks to Vandenbz for proofreading this!  
**

Three days after the finals, the city had finally calmed down.

Naruto followed Korra as she lead him through the city to their destination while acting as tour guide. After a while, he internally let out a relieved sigh.

No one in the streets was giving him any odd reactions, so Naruto assumed that no one in the arena had gotten a good look at him.

That was good; anybody seeing him fight, or even worse, getting a picture of him, would have been a nightmare.

Sure, when he had been younger, Naruto would have probably shown off for just that event, basking in the attention of the public. But he knew that for the moment, he had to keep a low profile, for Korra and the others' sakes if nothing else. He still didn't know specifically who it was that had he had beaten, but he wasn't dead, and would probably want a rematch. Naruto didn't want to take any more risks than were necessary at the moment.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!"

Naruto's train of thought was broken by Korra's yell, and he looked up to see that she had gotten a dozen yards ahead of him, now waiting for him at the end of the street and tapping her foot impatiently.

Naruto fought back a smile at the sight; Korra really was like himself when he was younger. Well, except that she actually had the ability and the skill to back up her boasts when she made them.

Okay, so maybe they weren't _that_ similar.

But there were other traits they shared.

At times Korra could just be a bundle of energy, seeming to find great difficulty in keeping still for an extended period of time. On the other hand, at times she would relax, calm herself, and if he hadn't seen it beforehand, Naruto would have found it tough to believe that she was the same person.

Naruto's friends back home had said on more than one occasion that he was the same way.

Shaking out of those thoughts, Naruto picked up his pace. He was tempted to just pump some chakra into his legs and close the distance almost instantly, to see the look on Korra's face if nothing else, but that would have defeated the purpose of laying low.

Though he did wonder why Korra seemed to bring the prankster in him back to the surface.

"So," Naruto started once he had reached her and they continued, "Where are we going, exactly?"

"You forgot already?" Korra asked, looking at him in exaggerated disbelief.

"I didn't forget," Naruto answered flippantly, "I just wasn't paying attention the first time; there's a difference!"

"And that's better _how_?"

Naruto's comeback -which would have been absolutely brilliant- was cut off by the sound of somebody bellowing through a megaphone as he and Korra rounded the corner.

_"Are you tired of living under the tyranny of our so-called 'leaders?'"_

Curious, both teenagers stopped to examine what was going on.

_"Are you tired of the corruption, arrogance, and greed that the council has inflicted upon our once-great city?"_

Moving a bit closer, Naruto and Korra saw the source of the commotion; a man, standing on some kind of makeshift stage, bellowing through a megaphone. However, what caught both their interests were the Equalist banners littered around the area, and the small crowd that had gathered around him.

"_We, the Equalists, are going to change that! We are going to cast out those who have failed us, and restore Republic City to its former glory!"_

Naruto had to admit a part of him was impressed; if nothing else, the guy had balls to actually try and hold a rally like this considering the attack three days ago.

But he was a bit concerned about the crowd that had gathered around the protester, and the fact that none of them seemed particularly offended by what the Equalist speaker was saying. Then again, that might have had something to do with the two toughs positioned on either side of him.

At his side, Naruto saw Korra tense. He didn't know what was going through her mind at the moment, but he could take a few guesses.

As the speaker went on, Naruto could almost feel Korra's anger growing, until her eyes flashed dangerously and she began to take a few steps towards the stage.

Naruto was now fairly certain that whatever she was thinking involved the speaker and some form of intimidation, possibly violence. He wasn't willing to find out, though; even he knew that just about anything Korra did at this point would just make things worse for her.

So, before Korra could get much farther, Naruto quickly grabbed her by the shoulder, prompting her to angrily turn around to face him, though she was thrown off by the sudden warmth she felt from the contact.

"What?" The question came out as something like a growl, but Naruto could read something else in her tone, though he couldn't place it.

Naruto didn't answer her directly, instead nodding over in the speaker's direction. Korra followed his eyes and saw what he was trying to point out.

The men guarding the speaker, which Korra had honestly almost forgotten about, were both subtly glancing over in her direction. She couldn't make out much of their faces behind the masks they were wearing, but Korra could see faint traces of anticipation in their eyes as they regarded her. They were _hoping_ that she would try to step in!

In her mind, Korra could see it all. She saw herself moving towards the stage, confronting the Equalist speaker. No matter what she would say, he (and perhaps the two guards with him) would always find some way to turn anything she said against her, probably inciting the crowd watching in the process. It would be even worse if she used her bending.

Well, she damn sure wasn't going to play their game!

Eyes narrowed, Korra turned back to Naruto. These guys weren't worth her time.

"Let's go." Although she was glad that Naruto had stopped her from falling into the potential disaster, Korra knew they had to leave as soon as possible. If she had to listen to that speaker any longer, she would probably step in anyway just to shut him up.

Seeing Naruto agree, Korra turned away and took the lead again, trying to ignore the odd sensation that still lingered on her shoulder.

xxx

After they had walked for a few more minutes, Korra couldn't hold her anger in anymore.

"Ugh! I can't believe the nerve of those, those-!"

"Uh, Korra?" At Naruto's slightly hesitant interruption, Korra turned her gaze back to him, to see Naruto pointing to the ground around her.

Looking down, Korra finally realized that the intensity of her anger was causing the earth she was standing on to tremble, and the various people in the street to back away nervously.

"Great." She huffed, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself down. She couldn't even get mad without needing to control herself! And that kind of defeated the purpose of getting mad in the first place.

When she had calmed enough so that the ground stopped trembling, the civilians beside them started going about their business again, though they still gave Korra a wide berth.

"So, where were we going again?" Naruto asked, mostly to try to break the silence that had descended afterwards.

"Oh, right!" She exclaimed, her anger completely gone by this point. Naruto had learned that while Korra was prone to quick bursts of anger, they would often dissipate as soon as they had come.

Yet another thing they had in common. Or used to have in common- he wasn't sure which.

"Well, we're going to the pro-bending arena."

Raising an eyebrow at the odd location -it had been shut down after the attack, after all- Naruto couldn't help asking, "Why there?"

"Because Bolin and Mako live there." Korra answered shortly.

Naruto sighed- he was pretty sure she was teasing him at this point. "And that matters because…?"

"I told you at breakfast. You really _didn't _listen, did you?" Korra asked, her eyes glittering.

Yep, she was teasing him. Well, two could play that game.

"Admittedly, I might have been a bit distracted by you trying to steal my food." Naruto replied without missing a beat.

"Hey!" Korra squawked in protest, "I wasn't stealing!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You were trying to take my food without me noticing. That's stealing."

Korra sputtered for a bit, eventually finding her voice again, but she was cut off by a cry of "Korra?"

Halting, Naruto and Korra turned to the speaker, Bolin, who was now making his way towards them.

"Well, what do you know?" Naruto commented to himself.

"Hey, Naruto." Bolin said after he had gotten close to them, smiling.

"Hey." Naruto replied neutrally. It wasn't that he didn't like the younger earthbender or anything, but they hadn't even spoken to each other that much yet. He was impressed by what he had seen during the finals, though.

Smiling somewhat awkwardly, Bolin turned back to Korra. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"Looking for you!" Korra responded happily.

"Yeah, but I'm still not really sure why." Naruto said, giving a significant look to Korra, who smiled innocently.

"Well, I was just doing some shopping." Bolin said, holding up the bag he was carrying for emphasis.

Seemed a little convenient to Naruto, but who was he to complain?

xxx

The rest of the trip to the stadium consisted of Korra and Bolin making small talk while Naruto just hung back a little and listened. He still wasn't quite familiar with the world enough to actually contribute to conversations like these.

Eventually, Naruto found himself in a somewhat small apartment-style complex within the pro-bending arena.

Mako was already there, and seemed surprised by Naruto and Korra being there, though Naruto was more so than Korra.

"So why did you come here, Korra?" Naruto asked one more time. Hopefully, she would stop being so coy now. If not, then Naruto would just have to think of some way to get it out of her.

She gave him that same teasing smile before she turned to the others.

"Well," she started, "I heard about the stadium being closed because of the attack on the finals."

Mako and Bolin nodded, clearly still unsure where she was going with this.

"So, that would mean that you two wouldn't have anywhere else to go."

Ah. Now Naruto had an idea of what Korra was doing. He still didn't know why she tried so hard to keep it secret, though. It wasn't like it would embarrass her or anything.

"So, do you guys want to come stay at the Temple?" Korra finished brightly.

She was a bit confused when Mako and Bolin glanced at each other uncomfortably. "Something wrong?"

Bolin glanced helplessly to Mako, who sighed resignedly. "This is awkward. But we've, uh, already made… arrangements."

What?

"With who?" Korra couldn't help but ask. She wracked her brain, but she couldn't think of anybody else who would be willing to take them in.

"Hey, you two." Came a warm, feminine voice, and Korra turned to see Asami just rounding the corner of another room, holding a cardboard box in her hands.

Oh, right. She'd forgotten about the older girl.

"Yeah, Asami came and asked us if we'd like to stay at her place for a little while."

"Huh." Well, Korra didn't really mind- the Sato's place would probably be a lot more comfortable for Mako and Bolin than the Temple anyway.

"…So, what's with the box?" Korra asked, unable to think of anything else to say. It wasn't often that someone managed to steal her thunder.

000

As it turned out, Asami had been carrying the box because she wanted to help Bolin and Mako pack their things. It was certainly a nice sentiment, but if Asami was as rich as Korra had told him she was, Naruto didn't get why she hadn't just hired people to do it for her. Well, he supposed it spoke well of her character if nothing else.

In the end, Korra had decided to help as well, and since he didn't really have anything else to do, Naruto joined in.

The two had gone back to the Air Temple afterwards.

The real excitement would come the next day.

Tenzin had invited him to sit in on Korra's next airbending session. Naruto had accepted almost immediately- if nothing else, it would help him see what kind of student Korra was.

That didn't mean it would help him figure out what to do, though.

Naruto honestly didn't know what they all expected of him. He still wasn't even clear on what chi was! How exactly was he supposed to help Korra?

That was the crux of Naruto's problem- what could _he_ bring to Korra's training that someone like Tenzin couldn't? Tenzin was the only airbending master in the world, and if he couldn't help Korra with whatever it was that was blocking her airbending, how could Naruto?

He was no teacher- he'd barely even read any textbooks! They were just so very boring.

Tenzin had mentioned something about Korra's nature blocking her access to the air element, but Naruto had never heard about anything like that before. It didn't happen with chakra, that was for sure.

He didn't know what he could do to help with that, either. As any of his friends would be quick to point out, Naruto was not the patient type. In fact, he was just about as far away from the whole 'inner-peace' thing as one could get, and Korra seemed to be the same way.

He supposed that would be one benefit from them being so similar- whatever little tricks he used to help him train or learn would probably work for Korra, too.

That being said, he was still completely lost on _what_ he was going to teach her.

XXX

The airbending session started simply enough. They began on what Jinora had told him was the meditation pavilion, and Naruto really just stood back and observed for the most part.

It was a little jarring to see Korra dressed in the outfit that she apparently used for these sessions- an orange shawl that was worn over yellow robes that acted as a shirt and pants. Since Tenzin and the other airbenders were wearing similar outfits, Naruto could only assume that they were some kind of uniform. He appreciated the coloring if nothing else.

The meditation went over about as one might expect. The four just sat in the lotus position as they attempted to find their inner centers. Well, the airbenders did- Korra just kind of sat there uncomfortably.

Naruto couldn't resist the smile that tugged at his lips when he saw Korra peek one eye open and glance at the others. It seemed she wasn't one for mediation either.

After an hour with no success on Korra's part, and Meelo actually managing to fall asleep, Tenzin had sighed and decided to move onto something else.

This had led to Naruto being introduced to the airbending gates. Once Tenzin had explained the purpose of the gates, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed. He could immediately see the benefits of the exercise- in combat, proper form could mean the difference of life or death, and the gates would give whomever used them a sharp eye for their surroundings. But since the whole point of the gates was to learn how to evade, Naruto quickly came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be using them. Evasion was definitely not his style.

And it apparently wasn't Korra's, either, because after three attempts, she had made no progress whatsoever.

"That's it! This is impossible!" Korra all but shouted, unable to hold her frustration in any longer.

"Korra-" Tenzin started sternly, before he was cut off as Korra rounded on him.

"Don't you start! I'd like to see _you_ try this without any airbending!"

This seemed to get under Tenzin's skin, because Naruto could swear that he saw the man's face redden with anger before he forcefully calmed himself.

"Korra, you need to do this. It is your duty as the Avatar!"

"I know that, doesn't make it any easier!"

As the two dissolved into an almost-shouting match, Naruto nearly sweat-dropped.

"Nice first impression, huh?" Naruto heard beside him. Turning and seeing nothing, Naruto paused a moment before glancing down, seeing Jinora smiling sheepishly at him.

"Are they always like this?" Naruto asked bluntly. If they were, then it was a wonder Korra had gotten anywhere at all.

Jinora gave him another sheepish smile. "They used to be. They managed to work it out until today though." As she finished, she sent a worried glance over at the two, still arguing.

"So, what's up, then?" Naruto wondered.

"I think Korra's just frustrated because she wanted to impress you." Jinora told him, smiling warmly.

She what?

Jinora giggled at the obvious confusion on Naruto's face.

"She knows that you're going to help train her with this-" here, Jinora gestured to the gates -"and she wants to prove to you that she can do it."

Naruto was impressed- Jinora was one very observant ten year-old!

"So, what do I do?" Naruto asked.

Jinora glanced at him. "How should I know?" She answered somewhat helplessly, reminding Naruto that however observant Jinora may have been, she was still a ten year-old.

Naruto sighed. _What would the old pervert do?_ Naruto had also had similar issues with his training early on, so how had Jiraiya handled them?

_That's it!_

"Hey, Korra!" Naruto shouted, gaining both her and Tenzin's attention.

"_What?"_ Ignoring Korra's frustrated growl, Naruto made his way over to her and Tenzin.

"What do you say we start training now?" Naruto proposed, sending her a challenging smirk.

All of Korra's anger and frustration seemed to drain out of her instantly, her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"Heck, yeah!"

"Why don't we go to the lake? I think this would work best there."

Catching on to what Naruto was trying to do, Tenzin agreed as well.

000

While he was glad that his idea had managed to get Korra to calm down, Naruto now had another problem- what was he going to teach her?

If jutsu didn't work like bending, then he could safely assume that chi wouldn't work like chakra either, which left only hand-to-hand skills, and Korra didn't really need any improvement on that front.

_WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?_

"…Naruto? You okay?" At Korra's concerned look, Naruto plastered a confident grin on his face.

"Yeah, I'm great!" He answered far too quickly. There was no way Korra would fall for that.

She didn't.

"…You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Naruto sighed, shoulders slumping. "Not a clue."

"Well, that makes this… pretty awkward then, doesn't it?"

Naruto only nodded morosely, and he and Korra- minus Tenzin and the children, who were helping Pema with something -fell into silence as they made their way to the lake.

XXX

"Okay… I have no idea where to start." Naruto said bluntly once they had reached their destination.

Korra sighed- she knew that Naruto was trying, but she had thought that he would have some sort of plan by now.

"Well, why don't you start with how you can walk on walls?"

Naruto brightened- that, at least, he could do. "The same way I can use the _Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Jutsu_- chakra."

"And what's chakra?" Korra had heard Naruto use the term before, but only briefly.

Naruto closed his eyes in thought, trying to recall the information that Sakura had drilled into his head.

"Chakra is a mixture of the spiritual and physical energy within a person. It is the foundation of every single jutsu in the world." When he finished Naruto opened his eyes to see Korra staring blankly at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh! No reason!" Korra answered, snapping out of her daze. "So, how can you use chakra?"

Naruto considered the question. "Just about anything, really. You've seen me use the _Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Jutsu_, and there are other types of jutsu like that. Chakra can be used for elemental techniques, with wind, water, fire-"

"Can you use it to shoot fireballs out of your mouth?" Korra asked excitedly.

Naruto paused. "…Well, _I _can't, but yes. Why do you ask?"

Korra ducked her head, smiling sheepishly. "I saw it in a dream."

"…Can you elaborate?" Naruto asked.

As Korra recounted the details of what she had seen (for a second time) Naruto couldn't quite keep his jaw from dropping open. How the _hell…?_

When Korra mentioned what she had done during her fight with Amon, his jaw _did_ drop open.

"And you came up with that on the spot?" Naruto asked for clarity.

"It was nothing, really, I just acted without thinking." Korra replied humbly, though she still seemed pleased.

Naruto was impressed. And a little nervous, if he was honest with himself. If Korra could create her own version of a jutsu like that on the spot, based on something she had only seen for a second, then what else was she capable of? In fact, that gave him an idea…

"I think I have something you could try." Naruto told Korra.

"Fireballs?" She asked, seeming far too excited by the prospect.

Chuckling, Naruto said, "No, not fireballs."

"Fine," Korra huffed, pouting a little.

"But this might be able to help you get to that point." He definitely got Korra's attention with that.

"What did you have in mind?" Korra could feel excitement rushing through her- even if it wasn't what she had hoped, she was still confident enough in Naruto to guess that whatever he had in store was going to be _good._

She was not disappointed when, with a light jump, Naruto propelled himself over the lake, using his chakra to allow him to stand on the water.

"Okay," Korra started, grinning widely, "I think I can work with this." Though on the outside she was relatively calm, inside she was doing cartwheels.

_This _was awesome!

xxx

Three hours later, she had made no progress at all.

Korra growled, glaring angrily at the edge of the lake, then at Naruto, who was standing on the water at the opposite side.

How could he do it so easily?

Korra had no idea what to do.

After Naruto had told her how he was able to focus his chakra to the bottom of his feet, Korra had tried to follow his example, and every time she placed her foot on the water, she could feel something start to form, but whatever it was would only last for a second before it broke away.

Naruto had said that he was throwing her in the deep end, having her try to learn how to do it without someone there to give her advice, and Korra appreciated it. She didn't need anyone to hold her hand.

At the moment, Korra's goal was to try and reach Naruto on the other side only walking on the water before the day was through, and she only had a small amount of sunlight left. If she couldn't do it, then they would have to come back and start again tomorrow, and Korra was _not _looking forward to a whole day of this! She didn't want Naruto to waste his own time just because she couldn't get what he was trying to teach her.

She had tried everything she could think of, again and again. She'd tried jumping like Naruto had- nothing. She'd attempted to walk while doing what Naruto had- nothing. She had even tried taking a running start- _still nothing!_

No matter what she tried, it never worked!

The worst part was that every time she had failed, Korra always felt as if the solution to ability was just out of reach, as if she only had to do one, small part to make everything else work.

It was incredibly frustrating for her.

Naruto had also offered her another method, using the same practice to walk on trees, which was supposed to be easier, but Korra had refused. She had started this, she was going to finish it!

She just didn't know _how._

Korra could see herself walking on certain types of walls; all she would need to do was to bend the earth within them around her so that they could-

Wait a second.

Korra paused, glancing back at the lake. She knew that she would never be able to manipulate her chi like Naruto could his chakra, but maybe…

Taking a deep breath, Korra walked over to the edge of the lake again, but this time, she paused before she went any further.

Korra tentatively edged her foot over the water, so that it hovered just above the surface.

She focused, bending the water in the in the lake to her will. The water responded, gathering in a small, whirling circle under her foot.

Cautiously, Korra placed her foot on the circle. If the water she was supposed to be standing on was moving as well, then maybe-

The circle broke, dispersing, and Korra had to fight the urge to scream in frustration.

It was just like when she tried airbending; she could make all the movements, but could never do anything more.

Finally, Korra stomped on the water, deliberately freezing it in the process.

And then she stopped in her tracks.

_Oh, _duh_!_

Excitement rushing through her, Korra quickly reached her right foot out so that it was just barely hovering over the water. Focusing, she called to the water again, willing it to freeze beneath her feet. In seconds, the water had frozen into a disk of ice, 6 inches deep and only a little wider than her foot.

After placing her foot on the ice and not feeling as if it would break, Korra placed her full weight upon it. When nothing happened, she tentatively moved her left foot- still on the ground -over and repeated the process, creating another ice disk.

When she did the same thing again and got the same results, Korra knew that she had done it.

And it had taken her the better part of the day to figure out what to do.

Now feeling a mix of elation at having come up with a solution and embarrassment for not thinking of it sooner, Korra more or less trudged her way over to Naruto's position.

When she got close enough, she could see him watching with a facial expression she couldn't recognize, and for a brief instant worried that maybe she had done something wrong.

For his part, Naruto was struggling to keep his jaw from dropping again.

He knew that Korra was skilled, but this was something else. It wasn't what he had had in mind, but it was just as good, if not better!

If Korra could become skilled enough to use this ability as easily as she could her other skills, then this opened up a whole new area for her fighting style! It might even be able to help her with her airbending, as well.

Tenzin had given him a short list of some of the moves that benders could use, and Naruto couldn't think of one that was quite like what Korra had just displayed. If that was true, then she had just created a new bending technique in the space of one afternoon!

…And Korra had made her way over to him, and was now staring at him, waiting for him to say something.

"So, what do you think?" Korra asked, hating the slight uncertainty in her voice. Why was she so worried about what Naruto thought?

"What do I- Korra! That was incredible!"

And now she couldn't help blushing at the praise. That was also new.

"So what does this mean then?" Korra asked, smiling, as she gestured to the ice still under her feet

Naruto chuckled. "It means that we need to see just how far we can take this thing!"

Well, Korra could agree with that.

000

Taro was furious.

He knew he had to at least attempt to control himself- it wouldn't do to blow up in Amon's headquarters, but if any situation called for it, it was probably this.

"I'm gonna kill the idiots!" He growled through gritted teeth. After three days of meditation and a full week of no-holds-barred sparring matches with the other hand-to-hand specialists, his Conditioning was finally back up to snuff, and he was ready to throw himself back into the fight, only to come back to discover that a group of idiotic weaklings had decided to take the Avatar on by themselves! It was insulting, and if it were up to him, they would be begging him to end their wretched lives by the time he was done with them.

How had the Equalists _ever_ allowed people so worthless to join their ranks?

"Calm yourself." Was all Amon said to him, and Taro's already thin patience snapped.

"Calm!? These morons attack the Avatar, failed, and worse, got themselves _captured_, and you want me to stay _calm_!?"

"Yes."

The short answer only served to heighten Taro's anger, and he had to forcibly restrain himself. "You got a particular reason I should stay calm?"

"We can profit from this."

Now curious, Taro raised an eyebrow, feeling his fury abate somewhat. "You can't honestly tell me you _planned_ for this?"

Amon only chuckled in response. "Of course not. But that doesn't mean we can't use this to our advantage."

As the other man finished speaking, Taro's eyes were drawn to the focus of Amon's attention- a photograph, of the blonde standing next to the Avatar in the arena, taken by one of their agents that had hid himself in the crowd.

They knew what he looked like now, they had a general idea of what he was capable of, and they knew the company the boy kept. The Equalists had won battles with far less than that.

So Amon was right; it hadn't been a _total_ loss.

Taro smirked, drawing himself to something resembling attention. He had never liked acknowledging when someone was stronger than him, even Amon, and this was as far as he was willing to compromise.

"So when do we get started?" This would be of the few things in life that he would truly enjoy, and just imagining the upcoming fight was enough to get his blood rushing.

"Soon."

**AN: Well, that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**I know it may seem a little odd that Korra could discover that ability so quickly, but hey, she's the Avatar for a reason!**

**Oh, and by the way, about that whole "general idea" bit at the end? They don't know _anything _yet!**

**Till next time!**


	9. Treason

AN: Okay, here's the next chapter.

Quick warning- although this chapter is based off _**The Aftermath**_, even using one or two lines directly from said episode, it will still end up being AU.

On that subject, I understand that some of you reading this won't like it, but I only ask that you keep two things in mind: One, that if I did stick solely to the cannon of both series, including Naruto's current power level in the manga, this story would have probably been over already. Two, every single change you see in this story has a purpose behind it, that purpose just might not be revealed for a little while yet.

Now that that's out of the way, thank you to all that have favorited, followed, and reviewed the story so far! Feedback is welcomed.

Once again, thanks to Vandenbz for proofreading this chapter! (Seriously, the man is awesome!)

Chapter 7: Treason****

Korra sighed in slight irritation- she understood that whatever Tenzin was doing was probably important, but she had been waiting at the Police Station for over an hour already.

"Fancy meeting you here." Came a despondent voice behind her.

Turning, Korra glance out of the corner of her eye the last person she would have expected to see again- Tahno, former leader of team Wolfbat.

"What are you doing here?" Okay, that was blunt, but Tahno had never given her the best impression.

Tahno sighed heavily. "Trying to make them all see _sense_."

Korra merely raised her eyebrow.

Tahno gave her a look that said 'Are you stupid?' "I'm trying to get the arena opened again."

Ah. So that was it- no more pro-bending, Tahno didn't have a job.

"Well, good luck, I guess." Korra replied. She honestly did love pro-bending and she was sorry to see the arena close, but after the attack, she just had to focus on other things now.

"Yeah, about the finals." Tahno started, clearly uncomfortable. "Thanks."

Well, Korra wasn't expecting _that_.

Her surprise must have shown on her face, because Tahno continued. "I'm not stupid, and I know that if you and that other guy hadn't been there, I probably would have died that night."

While Korra was really tempted to rub it in his face, she just let him speak.

"I could see how dangerous those Equalist guys were, and if they had beaten you, something tells me that they would have started on the people in the stands…" Here, Tahno trailed off, shuddering slightly, and Korra had to admit the thought chilled her as well.

"Look," Tahno started again, still uncomfortable, "I know we're not friends or anything, but even I can that tell you're the best chance we have to stop them."

Korra had no idea what to say to that, so she just kept her mouth shut.

"See you around, _Avatar_." He finished, walking away.

Any reaction Korra might have had was cut short by the sight of Tenzin entering the room from the other side.

She supposed it really wasn't that much of a surprise to see Chief Beifong with Tenzin- it _was _the Police Station, after all, but she hadn't been expecting Hiroshi Sato to be talking with the two of them.

Apparently, he had given the Police a tip about some company that had been supplying the Equalists.

While she didn't really know that much about the man, she was grateful for any advantage Republic City could get over the Equalists. Besides, he was Asami's father, so he couldn't be all _that _bad, right?

"An inspiring man, isn't he?"

Korra jumped, startled, before she turned to see Tarrlok standing behind her, staring at Hiroshi with an unreadable look on his face.

"What do you mean?" She asked cautiously. Korra still didn't really _like_ the Councilman, but he had saved her life, so she supposed she should at least try to be civil with him.

"You must have read _some _of it in the papers, or at least heard of his reputation. The spitting image of the self-made man, rising from having absolutely nothing to becoming the Chief Executive Officer of one of the most predominant industries in the world. Why, even after acquiring all of his wealth, he still decides to use it to try and help Republic City by rooting out sympathizers of its greatest enemy." There was something odd about his tone at the end, and it didn't take Korra long to recognize it as suspicion.

"You wish he hadn't told the Police about it?" Korra asked uncertainly.

"Don't get me wrong." Tarrlok told her. "I'm as happy about it as anybody else, but the fact that he came to use just as Cabbage Corp. received a major shipment of Equalist supplies strikes me as a little bit… coincidental."

"And let me guess- you don't believe in coincidences?" Korra remarked dryly.

"Oh, quite the contrary." Tarrlok answered. "Of course I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen all the time. I just don't _trust_ them."

"What, exactly, are you trying to tell me?" Korra asked, starting to lose her patience.

"I'm simply _suggesting_ that it might be in your best interest to exercise caution when dealing with Mr. Sato." Tarrlok answered, walking away as the others got close.

_Yeah, _that_ was comforting._

"Are you ready, Korra?" Tenzin asked.

"Yeah." Korra said, walking to his side.

"If you receive any more information that could help, please do not hesitate to come to us." Chief Beifong said courteously.

"It's no trouble at all." Mr. Sato replied. "I want these men to _pay_ for what they've done." He finished in a manner that was probably meant to be threatening, but was unable to pull off.

As she and Tenzin made their way out of the station, Korra couldn't help casting a glance back in Mr. Sato's direction, Tarrlok's warning echoing in her mind.

000

By the time she got back to the Temple, Korra had been able to (mostly) put Tarrlok's warning out of her mind. It was probably just Tarrlok being paranoid.

Besides, she wanted to have a clear head for this.

Korra still didn't quite know what to make of Naruto. He was a fun person to be around, the kids loved him, and Korra really appreciated all the help he had been giving her, not to mention he had probably saved the entire Temple from the Equalist attack, but there was still something… off about him.

Although Naruto was generally bright and cheerful, she could still remember very clearly the shadow that had appeared in his eyes while they were at the park. It had happened so quickly that Korra might have been able to convince herself that she had simply imagined it, until she recalled the images she had seen in her vision.

But that raised just as many questions as it answered- Naruto certainly didn't act like some war veteran.

Actually, other than that one time at the park, Naruto hadn't shown any other signs like that at all, and Korra wasn't sure if that just worried her even more.

The sounds of fighting broke Korra out of her thoughts, and she picked up her pace.

When Korra reached the lake which had quickly become their unofficial training spot, she stopped short at the sight that met her.

Naruto was sparring. With an exact copy of himself.

Korra could only shake her head in bemusement; Naruto had explained to her the full potential of the technique -_jutsu_, she corrected herself- and she could see how useful it was, but the sight of somebody sparring with themselves was just _weird_.

It was still awesome, though.

Thoughts of Naruto's odd behavior leaving her mind for the moment, Korra folded her arms across her chest and waited- knowing Naruto, the fight would probably be over soon.

She was right, and Naruto soon dispelled the clone with one solid punch to the chest.

"Working out the kinks?" Korra asked loudly, grinning when Naruto jumped a bit, even though he had to have been aware of her presence.

"I'll have you know there _are _no kinks to work out." Naruto growled playfully.

"Then what were you doing?"

"…Experimenting."

"With what?" Korra pressed, enjoying the somewhat alarmed look that donned Naruto's face.

It was really nothing big. Naruto had just wanted to see how long a single Kage Bunshin could last in hand-to-hand combat. He had already known that four or five could take a decent amount of damage before dispelling, but he had found himself curious how much damage _one_ could take.

Naruto idly wondered how Korra would react if he had told her that he had been sparring for over an hour.

"Nothing big." He finally settled on. Korra wasn't stupid by any means, but he really didn't feel like going over the finer points of chakra control at the moment.

"So, what did you want?" Naruto asked, curious why she had come.

"Well, I'm heading over to Asami's place. To check on Mako and Bolin?" Here Korra paused, wanting to be sure that Naruto was following her. At Naruto's nod, she continued, "So, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" She finished hopefully.

At Naruto's thoughtful look, Korra said hastily, "Asami _did _invite, me, it's not like I just decided to show up unannounced, and I'm sure Asami wouldn't mind, since she's so fond of you, and I know you don't know the others that well, but I thought that maybe you could-

"-Korra." Naruto interrupted. "I'll go."

Korra smiled widely. "Great! Come on!" And she turned and left, not hearing Naruto's 'Right now?" before he sighed and moved to follow her.

000

Naruto would be the first to admit that he didn't know the first thing about living conditions in this world, but even he could tell that the… estate before him at the moment was far beyond average price ranges.

He had difficulty believing that the place was really meant for only two people.

"When you said Asami was rich, you weren't kidding." He remarked to Korra, standing by his side.

"Nope." She, too, seemed a bit awed by the place.

Before either of them could say anything more, a smartly-dressed man approached them.

"We have been waiting for you, Avatar." He announced formally, not even glancing in Naruto's direction.

"Uh, Okay?" Korra replied, taken aback by the formal manner.

"Your 'guest,' however, was not expected." He finished with a pointed glance at Naruto, who raised his hands in a defensive manner.

"Hey, it was all her idea, don't blame me!" This earned him a cross look from Korra, who was trying to decide if he really meant it or not.

"Yes, well," the man sniffed, "The Sato's are nothing if not accommodating, and I am sure that this… _situation_ shall be resolved. If you'll both follow me." As he finished, the man promptly turned and headed back towards the estate.

Naruto and Korra shared a confused look, before Naruto shrugged, and they both moved to follow him.

XXX

After a few more minutes of walking, both teens taking in the estate as best they could, the trio's attention was grabbed by a loud cry of 'Earthbending bomb!' quickly followed by a loud splash.

Following the noise, Naruto found himself staring at what had to be one of the largest pools he had ever seen.

"You came!" they heard Asami, on the other side of the pool, exclaim joyfully.

"Hey guys!" Bolin exclaimed as well, while Mako simply waved, though he seemed much more open than he had the last time Naruto had seen him.

The man who had led them to the pool simply sighed, taking his leave, all but unnoticed by the teenagers in the room.

"Glad you came too, Naruto." Asami said warmly.

"Well, she insisted." Naruto replied as he motioned to Korra, though he was smiling. Korra decided to just ignore the jab.

"Can you believe it, Korra!?" Bolin asked excitedly, barely containing himself. "We are actually staying in a _mansion_!"

"Estate." Asami broke in.

"Oh, whatever!" Bolin dismissed. Asami only smiled in response.

"That's great, Bolin." Korra smiled, honestly happy for her friend. "I see you two have settled right in."

"You bet!" Mako said cheerfully. "Although _someone_ forgot to tell her father." He finished with a pointed glance at Asami, though it was clear to everyone that he was teasing her.

Unfazed, Asami only shrugged, which was actually quite impressive when you considered that she was still swimming. "It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

Naruto _did_ smile at that- he knew there was a reason he had liked her.

"Besides, I was able to smooth things over with him easily enough."

"Well, if you two ever get tired of the life of luxury-" Korra started, ignoring Bolin's 'Not possible!' "-the offer stands."

"Appreciate it." Mako said, smiling.

"So, were you guys just planning on swimming here the entire day?" Korra asked a tad uncertainly.

"Actually," Asami began as she climbed out of the pool, "I have something a little more interesting in mind."

XXX

Walking back through a random hall in the Estate, Korra had to admit that she'd had Asami pegged wrong.

Prissy girls certainly did _not_ drive sports cars!

She would really have to apolo-

"We're ready." Came the voice of Hiroshi Sato from behind a closed door.

Normally, Korra would have ignored it, but Tarrlok's earlier warning flashed through her mind, and she moved to the door as quietly as she could.

"The Cabbage Corp. investigation has bought us enough time." Sato continued, pausing as he waited for whoever he was talking to on the other line.

"By the end of the week, we'll be ready to strike."

Eyes wide, Korra tried to remain as calm as possible as she walked away.

So Tarrlok had been right after all.

_Damn it._

000

"'Ready to strike?'" Tarrlok repeated.

"Yes." Korra answered, honestly not sure what to do. How exactly did someone react when the father of one of their… friends, she supposed, was a traitor?

"So you're saying he framed Cabbage Corp. to buy time?" Tenzin spoke up next, unsure.

As soon as she had left the Sato Estate, Korra had immediately gone over to Tarrlok's office. She did feel a bit guilty about just leaving them all like that -especially Naruto- but this was more important.

She had to give the man credit- although Korra knew her suspicions were shaky at best, the Councilor had asked for Tenzin and Chief Beifong to be summoned to his office as soon as possible. Before he had even heard her out. Though they both seemed slightly cross when they had arrived, that had cleared up as soon as Tarrlok had told them about what she may have found.

"This is a bold accusation." Korra heard Chief Beifong say off to her side, though the older woman's words lacked any real heat.

"Bold, yes," Tarrlok replied, "but more than likely true."

"And _you_ would know this because…?" Beifong prompted skeptically.

"Need to know basis, my dear Chief." Was Tarrlok's only answer, though Korra could swear that he was holding back a smile. The not-smile only seemed to grow at the slight twitching of Beifong's eyebrow.

"I cannot yet tell any of you how I obtained this, but I _can _give you some information I've been… gathering on Mr. Sato." Tarrlok finished, presenting them a folder with Hiroshi Sato's picture inside.

A few hours later, the four plus members of the Police were flying towards the Sato estate.

000

While he still didn't know her that well, Naruto could say that Asami made a good first impression, and his instincts seemed to trust her, and Naruto had learned long ago to trust his instincts.

Bolin and Mako were another matter, though. It wasn't that he was suspicious of them- Naruto just didn't know either one of them well enough to form any kind of solid opinion. With Asami, the two at least had a shared language to connect them- Naruto still couldn't wrap his head around that- but with the two brothers, Naruto had absolutely nothing except maybe his blossoming friendship with Korra.

However, by the time the sun had set -Naruto had to admit that he _was_ a bit pissed that Korra had just left him there for so long- things had cleared enough for some small talk. Well, Mako, Bolin, and Asami making small talk, anyway- Naruto had been lost as to what they were talking about within the first few minutes, and had settled for simply listening.

The relative peace was abruptly shattered by the sound of doors being forced open, putting all those in the room on alert, an instant before what Naruto now knew were the Police come bursting into the room.

Bolin and Mako could do little more than stare in stunned silence, while Naruto, though still surprised, was at least able to regain his bearings quick enough. Before he could react further though, Asami beat him to the punch.

"What's going on here?" She demanded angrily.

The officer in charge merely jerked his thumb towards the door. "Talk with the Chief."

Asami sputtered before she shook herself and marched angrily out the door, Naruto and the others sharing a brief glance before moving to follow her.

XXX

Naruto raised an eyebrow when they reached their destination, what Asami had said was her father's workshop. He was surprised by who he saw inside- Tenzin, Beifong, Tarrlok, and Korra, along with a handful of Policemen.

Well, that made things interesting.

"What's going on?" Asami demanded, as close to yelling as any of them had ever heard her.

"We were hoping that you might be able to tell us." Beifong replied stiffly, back turned to them.

"This is a delicate-" Tenzin began, only to be interrupted by Korra.

"I'm sorry." She said, gazing at them mournfully.

"What are you talking about?" Asami asked, calm somewhat.

"Are you at all aware of your father's business partners, Miss Sato?" Tarrlok broke in.

"What? No, I'm not." Asami answered, confused by the apparent change of topic. "What does any of that have to do with you people barging into my house?"

"Well-" Tenzin tired again, before he was interrupted once more, this time by the arrival of another Police officer, who gave a crisp salute as he approached Beifong. "Ma'am, we have the area secured. No one has left since we arrived."

"Or perhaps we just couldn't _see_ them leaving." Beifong answered, moving to the center of the room, slamming down her foot and seeming to concentrate for a brief moment. "There." With a simple gesture, a small section of the floor seemed to levitate into the air before it slammed into the wall, revealing a small, square-shaped hole underneath it, with what appeared to be a lift of some sort beneath the surface.

The others could only stare, before Bolin leaned over and whispered to Asami, "Is there any chance your dad knows about this tunnel?"

Asami only shook her head slowly, apparently having trouble processing everything that had just happened.

"Maybe you don't know everything about your father." Korra began, sounding very unsure of herself. "I'm sorry."

They were broken out of their conversation by Beifong's "Men, into that tunnel!" and the metalbenders following her orders immediately, followed by Tenzin and Korra.

Naruto and the others began to follow them, until Beifong stopped them again. "No. You four stay here. Watch them." She finished to one of her men, who nodded in response.

"I will stand watch as well." Tarrlok cut in before any of them could protest. "I am… unsuited to operations like this. I would better serve here."

Beifong narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but didn't have time to argue. "Fine." She conceded, before following the others down the tunnel.

As the lift activated, Korra gave them all one last glance, before she disappeared from sight, leaving them with the metalbender and Tarrlok.

000

Korra knew that this was what had to be done. Didn't mean she liked it. The look on Asami's face was just so-

She shook her head, trying to focus on the task at hand.

They didn't have to wait for long, as the lift stopped just a few seconds later, and they all moved cautiously to the room ahead.

Her eyes weren't prepared for the sudden burst of light, and Korra had to blink a few times to clear the spots before she could see the room in front of her.

They were now in a large room, almost the same size as some of the rooms in Asami's place, with Equalist banners hanging from the ceiling.

"It appears Tarrlok was right." Tenzin stated unnecessarily.

"And I'm betting _this _was what Sato was talking about earlier." Korra commented as she stared at the odd, vaguely human-shaped machines scattered near the walls of the room.

Before they could say anything more, the stones by the entrance and the exit suddenly rose to form a large earth wall, trapping them with a loud _clunk_, plunging the room into darkness.

XXX

Hearing the sudden noise, Naruto's mind started racing.

Apparently, the others had similar reactions. "We've got to get down there." Mako said quickly.

"Absolutely not!" the metalbender guarding them barked aggressively. "We are staying right-" he was cut off by a muffled _thumping_ noise, before he fell to the ground unconscious, Tarrlok standing almost triumphantly over his body.

"I believe you were about to stage a daring rescue?" Was all he said, ignoring Bolin's gaping jaw. "You should hurry if that's the case."

Naruto nodded, deciding that now was not the time to start asking questions, pushing aside the ball of anxiety in the pit of his stomach.

"I'll stand guard here." Tarrlok stated.

"Let's get moving!" he barked, and moved to the tunnel, not noticing the others almost naturally following his lead.

XXX

"I must admit, you people work fast." Korra heard over what sounded like a loudspeaker. "But I'm afraid you just weren't quite fast enough." At the end of the sentence, the lights in the room sudden turned on again, revealing three of the large machines standing off against them. "With these Mecha-Tanks, nothing can stand against us."

The Tanks charged them instantly, leaving the group to scatter across the room.

All except Korra, focusing on the Tank in the middle, the Tank that seemed to be in charge. She let loose a quick burst of fire at it, to no effect.

As the Tank charged towards her, moving with surprising speed for its size, Korra jumped back to gain some more ground, switching to earthbending in the hope that solid rock might be able to do more damage. She was wrong, though, as the machine wasn't even fazed by the crushing impact.

Then, the Tank launched an odd-looking disk with three cables attached to it. Korra didn't know what the disk was meant to do, but she was certain that it couldn't be anything good, and she took an earthbending stance to try and block or deflect it-

Before she felt a sudden, blinding pain in the back of her skull, and the world seemed to fade away-

_There was a man; older, long grey hair, red robes, staring straight at her. Even though Korra was certain that she had never met him before, he still seemed familiar somehow. His mouth was moving, as if he was talking to her, but no sound was coming out. In the distance, she could see a red dragon taking to the sky…_

Korra blinked, and she was in the room again. That was all she was able to register before the disk plowed into her, discharging an unbelievable amount of electricity as the cables wrapped around her.

Korra howled in pain, and the world went black.

XXX

When Bolin had managed to lift the vent above them and provide them all with a way into the room, the first sound they all heard was combat. Bolin, Mako, and Asami paused, unsure of what to do, but Naruto, having far more experience with things like this, reacted instantly, leaping into the fight with a single chakra-charged jump.

The first thing he noticed, in that timeless moment while he hung in the air, was the bodies. Every single one of the metalbenders, aside from Beifong, was lying on the ground, unconscious or worse, Naruto couldn't tell. The next thing he noted were the large… things that were currently engaging Beifong and Tenzin. The two were holding their ground well enough, working together to deflect, block, evade, and attack the two machines. But where was Korra?

At the far end of the room Naruto saw her. She was lying on the ground, not moving, with one of the machines charging straight towards her, clearly intent on crushing her underneath its treads.

In that moment, Naruto felt a sudden, hot rage, surprising even himself in its intensity, surge through him, and all he could focus on was getting that machine away from his friend.

Blazing through handseals, Naruto roared loudly enough for all to hear "_Kage Bunshin Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu!_" creating a single clone midair. Naruto then grabbed the clone by its ankles, throwing himself into a spin, much like Korra had done during their spar, only bringing the shadow clone along with him. Once he had gathered enough momentum, Naruto released the clone, launching it at his target with accuracy that would have impressed even Tenten -the treads that the machine seemed to use to move.

Once it had gotten close enough, the shadow clone then went through its own set of handseals, activating the jutsu just before it impacted.

_"Bunshin Bakudan (Clone Bomb) Jutsu!" _

Right when it contacted the treads, the shadow clone converted every scrap of chakra in its system into pure fire, resulting in a small but intense explosion that blew the machine to pieces. Except for the cockpit, which remarkably remained intact, albeit embedding itself into the wall.

While the Equalist in the second Mecha-Tank was too stunned by what he had witnessed to react, Lin and Tenzin were at least somewhat adjusted to Naruto's abilities, and seized the opportunity to launch a combined strike against him, forcing the pilot to engage the two of them at once.

The last pilot, however, was a bit quicker to recover than his colleagues, turning to face the new threat, firing just as Naruto was about to land.

Naruto had seen it coming, though, and grabbed the kunai hidden away in a holster on his leg. Activating a quick _Shinkujin (Vacuum Blade)_, Naruto was able to cut through the metal disk like a hot knife through butter.

However, he was not able to bring the chakra-laced kunai back in time to meet the second disk that was launched immediately after the first.

The disk never hit him, though, instead being knocked out of the air by a well-aimed rock shot from Bolin.

_Screw this!_

As he landed, Naruto charged head-on to the machine, bringing a single shadow clone into existence beside him. It absolutely sucked having to use another clone for the technique again, but Naruto didn't have enough time to create it by himself.

The others could only watch, awed, as Naruto and his newly created duplicate went to work, Naruto extending his hand while the clone made odd, circling motions around his palm. The attack -for it could be nothing else- was clearly unfinished, but even so, some primal instinct told them all that it was very, very powerful.

As he charged forward, the Equalist in the Tank launched another attack, this time in the form of what seemed to be a retractable claw that shot forward from the tank's arms.

Seeing this, Naruto growled. The _Rasengan_ was nowhere near its full strength, but he would have to make do.

Dispelling the clone, Naruto force more chakra to his legs, propelling himself even faster, meeting the claw in a manner that was not unlike the collision he had experienced with that massive earthbender. The results were quite different this time, though.

Even though it was at half-strength, the _Rasengan_ was still one of the most powerful techniques in the ninja world. Naruto had also been working on his chakra control, and by now had relearned a good number of all of his techniques. This, in addition to the added level of control using the shadow clone to form the sphere, made it far more powerful and effective than the 'poor man's' version he had used against the earthbender.

So it wasn't particularly surprising when the claw was absolutely reduced to shreds. What was a bit less expected though was the sudden powerful burst of wind that accompanied the release of the attack.

The unexpected gust slammed into the Mecha-Tank, sending it skidding backwards into the wall behind it, where the machine let out a sort of sputtering noise before its lights dimmed, and the machine stood silent.

"Is there any chance I'll get to learn how to do _that_?" Naruto heard a weak voice ask.

Turning to the direction he heard it come from, Naruto found the source almost instantly. "Korra!"

Seeing that Korra would be taken care of, Lin turned her attention to the last Tank that she and Tenzin had taken down during the distraction that Naruto had provided, seeing its pilot stumbling out of the cockpit.

Lin stalked over to the Equalist, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the wall. "Where is Hiroshi Sato?" She growled menacingly.

"He was never here." The Equalist said smugly. "You failed from the start!"

His satisfaction was short-lived, though, when Lin rammed his head into the wall, knocking him unconscious.

000

Less than an hour later, Asami stood in her father's office. She still couldn't wrap her head around everything that had happened. Mako had offered to come with her, but Asami need to be alone for the moment.

Her father, working in secret with the Equalists for _years_? The whole concept sounded ridiculous at face value, like something out of a bad play, or two-bit motion picture. How had he been able to hide it for so long? How had she missed something so big?

_Maybe you don't know everything about your father._ Korra's words ran through her mind. It seemed she was right.

_Five dead_.

That was another thing that was running through her mind at the moment.

While most of the metalbenders were only slightly injured, a few with some broken bones but nothing worse, five of the men had been killed fighting those machines.

Machines that her father had built.

Asami felt a sharp pang in her chest at the thought.

Her father was making weapons for the Equalists. Weapons that they were probably going to use to kill even more people.

Was she responsible too?

She _would_ inherit the company one day, after all. Did that mean that she shared responsibility for all the deaths caused by her father?

There were just too many questions and not enough answers. Her father had covered all of his tracks very well.

That was why she was now in his office. Asami was hoping that he might have slipped up and left something behind.

Moving to stand behind his desk, Asami's eyes caught one of the items adorning it- a photograph of her father and her mother, along with a five-year old Asami, all of them smiling happily for the camera. One of the last memories Asami had of her mother before the attack.

Had her father been working with the Equalists even then? Admittedly, the thought didn't make much sense, but then again, nothing did anymore.

Asami sighed heavily, picking up the picture and gazing at it while she felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

How had it come to this? Why in the world would her father-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a clicking noise from the side of the desk.

Curious, she turned to see what had made the sound.

A small, hidden compartment at the side of the desk had opened when she had lifted the picture, with a small box resting in the center.

On top of the box was a note with a single word written on it.

ASAMI.

The word was written in her father's handwriting, although it was unusually sloppy, as if his hand had been shaking while he had been writing it. Asami could swear that there were also some wet spots on the letter that looked like tears.

Was this some kind of message her father had left her?

Feeling her heart start to race, Asami opened the box as gently as she could, despite her hands shaking slightly with anticipation, and she couldn't hold back a small gasp when she got a good look at what was inside the box.

It was an electric glove that the Equalists used, although it wasn't quite the same. It seemed sleeker, not as bulky as the other models that she had seen.

The glove looked as if it had been designed specifically for _her_.

000

Back at the Temple, Tenzin sighed heavily, unable to meditate.

The night had been a complete disaster.

They had gained _nothing_. The only thing that had come out of the failed assault on Future Industries was the deaths of five good men.

He was brought out of his dark thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him. Turning around, Tenzin found himself face-to-face with Lin.

This would not be a pleasant conversation, but it also couldn't be avoided.

"How bad is it?" The look on his old friends face was not reassuring.

"Five dead on the scene," Lin said hollowly. "Three more died in the hospitals." Tenzin winced at that- the metalbenders hadn't had such heavy casualties since… well, ever.

"I'm sorry." It was all he could think to say.

Lin only shook her head. "They knew the risks," she answered, though her tone was still flat. "But their families will have to be notified." Tenzin winced again- he did not envy Lin at all.

"But there _is _something that I'm curious about." Lin drove forward, her usual steel returning to her eyes.

"What?"

"The boy. _Naruto Uzumaki." _Ah. Yes, after the abilities that Naruto had displayed that night, Tenzin supposed Lin _would_ be curious about him. He simply waited for her to continue.

"You might not have seen it, but the way he moved, the way he fought, his stances… they were not what I'd attribute to a civilian. The boy has been in combat before. Maybe even _killed_." Tenzin congratulated himself for managing to suppress his wince this time. He had suspected much the same, and he wouldn't be surprised to learn Korra had her own suspicions as well. But since Naruto had shown none of the signs displayed by any of the other veterans Tenzin had met, he had been willing to let it slide for a short while.

"What is he, Tenzin?" Lin asked, in that special tone of hers that brooked no argument. She must have picked it up from her mother.

After a moment's pause, Tenzin sighed. "Even if I knew, it would not be my place to say. If you really wish to know, I would suggest asking him yourself."

Lin narrowed her eyes in an attempt to intimidate the answers out of him. But Tenzin wouldn't budge on something like this. If Lin wanted answers, she would have to ask Naruto herself.

Eventually, Lin scoffed and turned away. "Have it your way, then." She muttered, before disappearing from sight.

"Lin." He called after her, thankful when she paused in the doorway. "Keep in mind that Naruto hadn't gotten involved in the fight, the casualties would have probably been much worse."

Lin paused for a moment, before she continued on her way.

000

With a last jab of the kunai, Naruto paused, panting, by the shore of the island's lake.

He was angry.

Not just at the Equalists, or Asami's apparently traitorous father, although he would admit that they were a factor.

No, at the moment, Naruto was mostly angry at himself, for still being so damn _weak_.

When Naruto had first woken up, he had been disoriented, exhausted. Honestly, he had been surprised he was able to even form a _Shinkujin_, let alone a _Rasengan_.

When he had fought against Korra, Naruto knew that it wasn't a real engagement, hadn't wanted to really hurt her, even by accident, so he limited himself.

Tonight was the first time since coming to this world that Naruto had used a part of his full power, without having to worry about collateral damage or his own chakra supply.

And it had been for _nothing_!

Growling, Naruto started the movements with his kunai again, lashing out and blocking imaginary attacks all around him.

Korra would be fine, having no real injuries other than the electric shock, but that didn't change the fact that she had almost died.

It seemed that they would have to step up their training.

Next time would be different. That he promised to himself, and Naruto Uzumaki _never_ made a promise that he couldn't keep.

Line from _**Star Trek:DS9 **_was used.


	10. Interlude 2- Home

**Okay, you people know the drill; I own nothing**

**Alright, quick heads up— there is very little action in this chapter. However, this one is probably going to wind up being one of the more important parts of the story as a whole, so... can't have everything.**

**Beta'd by Vandenbz**

* * *

**Interlude 2: Home**

* * *

_Next time would be different. That he promised to himself, and Naruto Uzumaki _never_ made a promise that he couldn't keep._

Resolved, Naruto re-holstered the kunai and made his way back to the Temple.

While he wanted to get down to training again immediately, he had to see to this first.

A few hours had passed since the failed raid, Naruto, Korra, and the others having returned to the Temple to recover. Well, _most_ of them had.

Before Naruto could leave to begin his exercises with the kunai, Lin had intercepted him and very bluntly told him that she had some questions that she wanted answered.

Naruto suppressed the anxiety welling up in his stomach as the lights came into view— since he was pretty positive that a situation like this had never happened before, he would more or less have to make it up as he went along.

While that _was_ his usual style, at the moment, Naruto couldn't help but wish that he would be able to come up with a better plan.

Well, not much he could really do about it now.

He was amused to note that the meeting would be taking place in the same area where he had first met Asami and the others. Maybe it had been chosen on purpose?

Naruto's distracted musings were broken when he heard someone say "It's about time."

Turning in the direction of the voice, Naruto recognized Lin Beifong, staring him down from her position at the entrance to the Temple. Naruto didn't need to read body language to guess that the Police Chief was angry, and most of that anger seemed to be focused on _him_ at the moment. _Just like_ _Baa-chan,_ he thought only half-jokingly. Though really, the older woman still reminded him more of Ibiki than anyone else.

Taking a quick look around, Naruto was relieved to see Korra there as well—she had gone to Tenzin about something quickly after they had all returned. At the very least, she appeared unharmed. Naruto knew that she hadn't been severely damaged in any way, but given that she had almost been flattened, he couldn't help himself.

Tarrlok was absent, though. If Naruto had to guess, he'd say the man was running damage control back at the Sato estate.

The others were gone too, probably forced away by Beifong, Tenzin, or both.

"We need to talk."

Well, might as well get it over with. "About what?" He asked, injecting a slight hint of a challenge into his voice.

"I think you already know." Lin shot back in a near-growl.

Naruto said nothing, waiting for her to make the first move.

Lin huffed. "Fine, we'll do it your way."

Naruto blinked in surprise. Given how the Police Chief had acted around him for the past few hours (and to a lesser extent since they had first met, although they hadn't spoken more than ten words to each other) he wouldn't have thought that she would give in so easily.

In truth, Lin hadn't given in—she'd just changed tactics.

"Why don't we start with your… _techniques_ at the factory, hmm?"

Naruto knew he had to be cautious here; he might have been in another world, but he still couldn't jeopardize Konoha's security. "What about them?"

"I might not have whatever it is _you_ use, but I'm not blind. The way you moved, the way you held that knife? Whatever you are, you're no civilian, and I want to know how and why you learned to fight like that."

Warning bells set off in his head as Lin finished. She was fishing for something; that much he was sure of. Naruto just wished that he knew _what_ she was looking for.

Still, there wasn't any reason he couldn't answer this honestly. "It's really no big deal. I've been trained to fight since I was six."

The admission had about the effect he thought it would. Tenzin didn't outwardly react, but Korra glanced away briefly, and Naruto guessed that she was uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had turned.

Lin, however, pressed forward, eyes narrowing dangerously. "Listen very carefully, boy; I don't know how it's done in whatever world you came from, but here—"

"WHAT!?"

Whatever Lin had been about to say was cut off by a loud yelp from some nearby buildings.

To her credit, Lin was only surprised for a brief moment, before she turned towards the source of the sound. "Show yourself!"

A few moments later, they were all treated to the sight of Bolin entering the area, his oddly—colored Ferret on his shoulder. "Hi."

"Care to try again? I don't think they heard you in the city." Mako spoke up as he followed, his face a mix of embarrassment and resignation.

"Okay, is there anybody else listening in on this?" Naruto muttered softly. He hadn't spoken loudly enough for anyone else to hear him, but was nonetheless rewarded with Asami sheepishly following in Mako's footsteps. "Of course."

Lin briefly looked taken aback as well, before she schooled her features back into what Korra had (_very _privately) taken to calling her 'Chief Mode.' "What are _you_ three doing here?" She growled as menacingly as possible given the circumstances.

"Well—" Mako spoke for the rest, briefly flinching under Lin's harsh glare before continuing— "We noticed you guys were having some kind of secret club meeting—" he either didn't notice the police chief's twitching eyebrow or ignored it altogether— "and given everything that's happened tonight, we wanted to see what was up."

Naruto honestly wasn't sure how to react to the 'plan' the three had come up with, but Korra had to work to keep a proud grin from breaking out on her face. Even Tenzin had to admire their loyalty, if nothing else.

But Lin would not be moved so easily, and whether it was from anger at the three for eavesdropping or embarrassment for not noticing them sooner, she pressed on. "And how exactly did you picture this going?"

Mako only shrugged unrepentantly. "Pretty much like this."

Asami spoke up, seemingly unfazed. "After… what happened with my father, did you honestly expect us to just stay out the way?"

Lin growled again, though whether her anger was focused on the three intruders or at herself Naruto wasn't sure.

"Lin." Tenzin broke in, "I think, given the circumstances, it would be best if we informed them of what we know. I'm sure it would only have been a matter of time before they learned the truth one way or another." Here, he glanced in Korra's direction, who smiled sheepishly in response, though she didn't deny his claim.

"Fine." Lin huffed, surprising even Tenzin with the concession. "But not until this discussion is over."

Naruto could deal with that. She had just lost eight people; he supposed she deserved that much.

Her composure recovered, Lin rounded on him. "Have you killed anyone?"

Naruto's response was immediate. "Yes." He was vaguely aware of the multiple gasps of the others around him, but at the moment, Naruto's attention was focused almost completely on the intimidating (not that he would ever admit it) woman in front of him.

"How many?"

Again, Naruto didn't hesitate. "I try not to think about it."

Lin's eyes narrowed, and something told Naruto that this was what she had been waiting for.

"Judging from your stance, you've had a _lot_ of experience with this." Lin paused, giving time to let her words sink in. "It's almost enough to make me question the safety of those around you."

Naruto _really_ had to reign in his temper at that; unless he was mistaken, she was labeling him a murderer. Naruto had certainly killed in the war, far more times than he had ever wanted to, but it was not murder. Despite what even some people back home would occasionally try to tell him, there was a difference between the two. Something told him that Lin was a woman who understood that. But if that was true, then why would she be so aggressive about it?

"The only people I _killed_," he began, stressing the last word, "Were the ones who wanted to see my home burn to the ground."

Lin's eyes narrowed even further. "And what do you mean by that?"

Well, no point in holding anything back now. "We were at war."

A sudden, abrupt silence followed the declaration, as if they all couldn't quite comprehend what he was telling them.

"The vision." Korra's softly—spoken words broke the silence, as well as drawing the group's attention towards her.

"That vision," Korra continued, "the one I had before you came here— it was real, wasn't it?"

Recalling Korra briefly explaining her dream, or what he had thought was just a dream at the time, Naruto only nodded. "Looks like." That Korra had had a vision of the final battle in the Akatsuki War brought up a hundred more questions, and his head was actually starting to hurt just thinking about it.

"Okay, back up." Bolin broke in, arms flailing in a slightly exaggerated manner. "What's going on here? What are you guys talking about?"

Korra sighed, more out of exhaustion than anything else. "We'll talk later."

Bolin sighed. "Fine. Leave us in the dark."

"Should have seen this coming." Mako muttered, a slightly teasing grin on his lips.

"If you're all done," Lin growled, "I believe we were in the middle of something?"

Bolin smiled sheepishly. "Right, Right! Just pretend we're not here!" Naruto wasn't positive, but it looked like the Ferret—Pabu, was it?—was nodding as well.

The interruption dealt with, Lin turned her full attention back on Naruto, and he somehow knew that _this _was what she had been waiting for the entire time. "Would you kill again?"

Naruto met her eyes without flinching. "If I was left no other choice, or if it would protect the innocent, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Why?"

The small trace of honest curiosity in her voice piqued Naruto's interest. "Could you be a little more specific?"

"If you are from another world, why would you care about what happens here? If you were at war, why would you have any desire to get yourself involved in another?" Lin demanded, not breaking eye contact.

Naruto answered with pure conviction. "Because I care about my friends." Since he was so focused on the older woman, Naruto didn't notice Korra's cheeks heat up slightly in a pleased blush.

Lin only scoffed. "That's it?" She demanded incredulously.

"That's it." Naruto echoed.

The two continued to stare one another down, the others around them fading into the background. Privately Naruto was confused; why was she hounding him like this? Sure, they didn't really know each other, but—at least as far as he could tell—Naruto hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't think that he had broken any laws, and he definitely hadn't done anything like she was suggesting, so why-

The staring contest abruptly ended when Lin released a sigh, her features softening. "Good enough, I suppose."

Naruto blinked; what just happened?

Bolin apparently shared his confusion. "What just happened?"

Tenzin sighed. "I should have known."

"Known what?" Korra asked, just as confused as the rest of them.

"Well, Tenzin," Lin started, ignoring all the others. "I'll leave the rest in your hands."

The airbending master sighed again. "I really wish you had told me you were going to do this."

Naruto could have sworn that he heard a bit of smugness in Lin's tone as she replied. "Wouldn't have been as fun that way."

"Wait a second. That's it?" Naruto certainly didn't mind that the conversation was over, but he had to admit it seemed a bit… anticlimactic.

Lin shrugged. "I was curious."

_No way._ "So instead of just asking, you went with a full-blown interrogation?!"

Lin shrugged again. "It worked, didn't it?"

Naruto groaned; the woman wasn't just _like_ Ibiki, she was practically a clone!

"But before I'm done here, is there anything else we should know about?" Lin asked, though with far less hostility than just a few moments before.

Naruto briefly considered his former Jinchuuriki status, but disregarded it just as quickly. It had nothing to do with what they were talking about now, and since Kurama appeared to be gone, Naruto would be more than happy to take that bit of information to the grave.

"Nothing else."

Lin nodded, turning to leave, before she stopped. "One last thing." Here, she seemed to pause, as if she was having difficulty forming the right words. "Thank you. If you hadn't jumped in when you did tonight, it would have been a lot worse."

Naruto blinked in surprise before he regained his bearings. "No problem!"

After she had departed, with a warm (for her, anyway) 'Say hi to Pema for me,' Tenzin spoke up. "Korra, about what happened to you at the factory-" He got out before Korra interrupted.

"Look, Tenzin, I get that this is important, but if you don't mind, it's been a _long_ night."

Tenzin sighed in exasperation. "Have it your way," he muttered, heading back inside the Temple himself.

The silence after his departure was broken by Bolin's "So, anything you want to tell us, Korra?"

Korra turned to Naruto. "You want to help here?" She asked hopefully.

Naruto grinned in response. "Hey, it's been a long night." He turned to leave, barely holding in his amusement at the sight of her face falling so fast.

"Good luck, though."

XXX

Tenzin was greatly relieved by the time he saw Pema again. Even he had to agree with the others— it had been a long night.

Korra had been right— they could discuss everything that had happened at a later date. For now, they would allow Korra's friends to adjust to life on the island. And for Lin and the police to lick their wounds.

He was still worried about that. While, sadly, the metalbenders had incurred some casualties in their decades of service, it had never been this bad or this fast. He would not be at all surprised if any of the other survivors would desire vengeance. It would be understandable, but they needed level heads if they wanted to defeat the Equalists.

However, as they (nearly) always did, his concerns melted away as soon as he saw Pema, waiting for him in the doorway.

"You look tired," she greeted him, a teasing light in her eyes.

"It was exhausting," Tenzin replied, greeting her with the ritual they had jokingly started when they had first started dating. After tonight, the familiar routine did wonders for him.

Recognizing his stress, Pema's eyes soften, her features gaining becoming more concerned. "What happened?" Tenzin knew she wasn't asking about the factory.

He released a tired sigh in response. "How are the children?"

Pema frowned slightly at the change in topic, but didn't react otherwise— she knew her husband would tell her in time. "They're waiting for you."

Tenzin nodded, relief rushing through him. The entire night had been taxing, and at the moment, he just wanted to see his family and go to sleep.

He found all three of his children waiting for him in the next room. Well, technically just two— Meelo was asleep, snoring loudly.

"Daddy!" Ikki exclaimed upon hearing him, all but tackling him as she threw herself into his arms.

"Is something wrong, dad?" Jinora asked somewhat anxiously, perhaps picking up on some of what her mother had as well.

Though he was physically and mentally exhausted, the reassuring smile came easily to his face. "It's nothing, Jinora. Your aunt just wanted to have a… talk with Naruto."

Though he had meant to calm her, Tenzin's words seemed to have the opposite effect. "Is he okay?"

Tenzin paused, trying to read what he could of Jinora's body language before he answered. Up until this moment he had been worried—alright, terrified—that Jinora had become… _infatuated_ with the young man. While he supposed it was understandable, he was by no means happy about it. Now, however, Jinora displayed none of the signs that she had previously, and concern in her eyes was only the concern for someone she considered a friend, or at most, for a close relation of the family like Katara or Bumi.

The little brat had been _teasing_ him!

Tenzin groaned internally. It seemed that Jinora really _had_ inherited some of her grandfather's humor.

He could have sworn he glimpsed Pema smiling in amusement out of the corner of his eye.

"He's fine, dear." Tenzin said at last. Then, he remembered something else that he had been intending to ask about before the whole mess had occurred. "How's the surprise coming along?"

As he expected, the topic seized his daughters' attention almost immediately, both launching into details about the progress they had made along with Pema over the last week.

A few minutes later, it was time for them all to go sleep. Tenzin wasn't looking forward to the inevitable chaos of his work in the morning.

"You think he'll like it, daddy?" Jinora asked, her eyes sparkling in a way that reminded him that no matter how mature she was for her age, she was still a child.

Tenzin smiled, feeling no small amount of pride for his eldest daughter. It had been her idea, after all. "I think he'll love it."

000

In his office, Tarrlok massaged his temples in an attempt to stave off his growing headache. One more reason to dislike the Equalists— they made his job even more unbearable than it was on a regular day.

Trying to manage any sort of damage control after a disaster like tonight's would be quite a task in and of itself. Add into that the panic that would follow once the city learned that almost ten metalbenders had died against 'a small group of radicals,' and it was borderline impossible.

But the damage had been done already.

Blood had been shed tonight.

It had not been the first time lives were lost for the sake of Republic City, and it would not be the last. Only next time, Tarrlok was determined to ensure that it would be Equalist lives that were taken.

The problem was that they had no leads they could follow.

Not one of his many sources had been able to find anything solid, so at this point, their only choices were to wait for the Equalists to make the next move, or take more… drastic measures.

Once again, his gaze was drawn to the files scattered on his desk. Twelve files for the twelve Equalists that they had managed to capture up to this point.

Tarrlok had always prided himself for being able to face reality no matter how painful it may be, and he certainly wouldn't stop now.

But maybe they didn't need to resort to _that_ just yet.

While Tarrlok wouldn't hesitate should the need arise, perhaps there were still a few more cards they could play.

000

**Three Days Later…**

_Amon was standing right in front of her, not moving._

_Korra charged and attacked, lashing out with punches and kicks, but they didn't even faze him._

_The whole time, he just stood there, almost as if he was mocking her. Once again, her attacks of water and earth did nothing._

_There was a flash, and suddenly Amon was further away, standing over eight bodies, none of which were moving. His sword was stained red._

_He spoke, for the first time since the fight started. "This is the price of your failure, _Avatar_." _

_She charged, fist bursting into intense flames, launching a fire—charged punch straight at Amon's heart—_

Korra shot up in her bed, gasping, beads of sweat rolling down her face.

_Another nightmare._

The second in a row.

Still feeling her heart pounding, Korra shakily got up. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep tonight.

She had been restless for the past three days, her sleep getting erratic. She had attempted the meditation exercises Tenzin had tried to teach her, but she hadn't even been able to get close to what they both wanted.

Tenzin believed that Avatar Roku, and by extension the Avatars of the past, wanted to tell her something. He wanted to know if it was a way they could defeat the Equalists. Korra, on the other hand, just wanted the… man, for lack of a better term, to stay out of her head.

Needless to say, progress on the meditation front had been slow, to say the least.

But her own hang-ups on the matter of dead people trying to talk to her were only part of the problem.

By the time she had reached the lake, Korra's heartbeat had returned to its normal pace.

_"How could the people of this city, of this world, depend on someone like _you_?" _Unfortunately, her mind was still running a mile a minute.

Amon's words echoed in her head, had been ever since the day after Naruto had told them all where he had come from. Korra knew that she shouldn't be letting him get to her like this, but no matter what she did, she just couldn't drown them out.

No matter what she did, a small part of her whispered that Amon was right.

She was the Avatar, chosen by the spirits to bring peace and order to the world.

The Equalists were threatening to break that peace— had been since they'd first appeared.

Tonight had been her first real encounter with the Equalists, rather than just Amon himself, her first chance to truly prove herself to the people of Republic City. To show them all that she was capable of protecting them, that she was worthy of her position. And she had been the first to fall. Yeah, she _had _been more than a little distracted by the sudden vision that Roku had sent her, but that was still no excuse.

Because of her failure, her _weakness_, eight people were dead. Korra tried not to focus on that last bit— whenever she did, her thoughts would always stray into darker territory.

Unbidden, her thoughts strayed back to her most recent dream, to the image of her flaming fist poised above Amon's heart.

Maybe that was what was worrying her the most—

"Can't sleep, huh?' a voice broke into her thoughts, and Korra turned, startled, to see Naruto standing a few feet behind her, concern apparent in his eyes.

"W—well, what are _you_ doing up so late?" Korra asked, mostly just to cover up her embarrassment at being startled so easily.

With a raised eyebrow, Naruto replied, "I know you've been coming here the past two nights— I just wanted to know why."

"Wait," Korra started, confused, "how did you know I was here?"

Naruto only smirked. "Ninja, remember?"

Oh, right. Well, now she just felt stupid.

Sighing Korra said, "I just needed to think."

By now, Naruto knew Korra well enough to know when something was bothering her. "What about?" He asked.

Korra paused. She wasn't sure if she wanted to let Naruto know about what had been bothering her. She wasn't sure if she wanted _anyone_ else to know. She had already imagined the worst possible reactions of her friends, and she had no desire to live them out. But Naruto had openly admitted to doing the same thing, hadn't he? Surely he of all people wouldn't judge her too harshly for thinking along these lines, right?

Still, none of that made it any easier to bring the subject up.

Taking a deep breath, Korra finally voiced what had been worrying her for the past three days. "What if I have to kill him?"

Naruto blinked, as if he was surprised. "Kill who?"

And Korra could have slapped herself. "Amon." She elaborated roughly in an attempt to cover her embarrassment, hoping that Naruto couldn't see her sudden blush.

When Naruto still looked lost, Korra got curious. "The leader of the Equalists?" Surely Tenzin would have told him by now?

Naruto just shrugged. "Never heard of him."

_What? _"So, Tenzin told you all about the Equalists, but he never once mentioned the guy in charge?" Korra asked, honestly baffled. How was that even _possible_?

"If it helps, I'm sure Tenzin thought he was being clear as day." Naruto grinned, and Korra could feel herself grinning back in response.

The grin dropped, however, when Korra remembered what had brought her out here.

Picking up on Korra's mood, Naruto also grew more serious. Whatever was bothering her, it was probably big, and he had learned that sometimes it was best to just wait for the other person to speak first.

He didn't have to wait long, as Korra soon poured out her worries in a rush. "It's just… I've never had to really think about something like this before, and I just don't know what I'd do if I ever actually had to…" And she stopped as she caught sight of the emotions in Naruto's eyes. There wasn't a trace of anger or disbelief— or worse, fear —like she might have expected. Instead, Naruto's blue eyes showed only sympathy. As if he actually _understood_.

"You don't want to kill, even if you know it might be the only way." At his statement, so casual and yet so, so _right_, Korra could do nothing but nod dumbly. She had never expected anyone to be so understanding if she had actually breached the topic.

Naruto gave her a reassuring smile, and Korra was confused by the sensation of her heart skipping a beat. _What the…?_

"It's alright to be afraid, you know." Naruto's next words brought her out of her thoughts. He chuckled somewhat ruefully before continuing, "Hell, I'd actually be more worried if you weren't at least _a little_ afraid."

Korra smiled again, grateful that Naruto didn't seem to think any less of her. "It's not just that, though. I came to this city just a few weeks ago to learn how to airbend, and now I might actually have to _kill_ someone?"

Naruto nodded in an almost sage—like manner. "Yeah, life sucks like that." And despite herself, Korra felt laughter bubbling in the back of her throat.

"Look, Korra, I don't know how people would react in this world, but where I come from, if you did have to kill this Amon, and based on what I know about you so far, there wouldn't be a single person in the world who would blame you for it."

While that was probably meant to be comforting in some way, Korra found it only increased her concerns— only not for herself this time, but for her friend.

"What happened to you?" She asked before she could stop herself.

Naruto's answering smile was more than a little bitter. "You don't want to know." was all he said.

Korra did want to know, if only to help him deal with whatever it was he was going through, but she didn't feel like prying, so she let it slide for now. Instead, she wracked her brain to try and think of something to say that would break Naruto out of his daze.

She needn't have bothered though, because Naruto spoke up again a short while later. "Korra, I know you're scared—hell, I was downright terrified when I first thought of this stuff—but there's nothing you can do about it until it actually happens, so for now… I would say just try not to think about it."

The advice wasn't what Korra would call 'satisfying,' but… she found it _did_ help, if only a little.

"Thanks." She said quietly, though sincerely.

Naruto grinned in response. "No problem." Then, he yawned stretching. "Now if you don't mind, it's late and this has gotten a little… _heavy_ for me." Korra had to fight the little grin that was threatening to break out— now _that _sounded more like the Naruto she knew.

"I'm gonna go back to sleep." Naruto finished, turning back to the temple. As he left, Naruto called over his shoulder "Believe me, Korra, you'll know what to do when the time comes." Korra _did_ smile at that.

"Good night." she called after his diminishing form. She still wasn't ready to try and sleep again just yet.

Turning back around, Korra's gaze was drawn to the lake, as it was the other two nights she had come here, but the experience was noticeably different now.

Watching the light of the full moon dancing of the water, Korra idly wondered why she had never noticed how beautiful the lake could be at night before.

It was amazing, really. She had spent the better part of three days and two nights constantly fretting over maybe having to kill Amon, and yet after a five-minute conversation with Naruto, her concerns might not have vanished completely, but they were far more manageable. Naruto was right, after all— there wasn't really anything she could do about it at this point.

Now she wondered why she hadn't just come to Naruto in the beginning. If for no other reason than to thank her for what he did at the factory.

Korra blushed at the thought, feeling slightly irritated for doing so, but she really couldn't help it. Nobody had ever done anything like that for her before.

Sure, she knew that the Order was… concerned for her, but if any of them had ever done what Naruto did, she knew it would only be to protect the Avatar, not Korra herself.

She knew Mako and Bolin, and possibly Asami, would also do everything they could to help her, along with Tenzin and his family, but the fact remained that Naruto had been the one who did it first.

Korra supposed she should have been surprised that Naruto had become such a close friend even though they had only known one another for less than a month, but she certainly didn't mind.

Even if she had only known him for a short while, Korra found that she truly enjoyed spending time with him. He was fun. She also had a great deal more in common with him than most of the other people around her age.

He clearly enjoyed a good fight as much as she did, if the grin he had been wearing during their spar was any indication.

He was also an incredibly good teacher; if he hadn't stepped in that day, she would probably still be struggling with those _stupid _airbending gates, rather than learning how to actually walk on water.

He was just so…

Korra blinked, realizing what she was thinking, and shook her head rapidly.

What in the world was happening to her?

000

**The next day…**

Korra launched another fire blast at the charging clone, the fire leaving a trail of steam in its wake as it flew across the water.

The clone burst into smoke upon contact, dissipating rapidly.

From her position on the center of the lake, small planes of ice formed underneath her feet, Korra grinned. "Come on, Naruto!" she called out tauntingly. "I thought you said this was going to be a challenge!"

From the shoreline, Naruto answered with a grin of his own. "I'm just getting started!"

Korra only grinned wider, slamming her fist into her open palm. "Bring it!" She challenged.

With a cry of _Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) Jutsu!_," her challenge was answered, three clones appearing and spreading out, closing in on her from multiple directions.

Preparing herself, Korra focused— what she had in mind would be difficult, but by no means impossible.

She turned slowly to the clone that was nearest to her, the one coming in from her right, and sent another burst of fire in its direction, destroying it.

_That's one down!_

Now came the tricky part, as Korra lifted her right foot off the water, quickly pivoting to the next nearest clone at her left and releasing an arc of flame, finishing it off as well.

_That's two!_

Still pivoting, Korra brought the foot that was still in the air back to where it had been originally, slamming down into the water and rapidly re—forming the ice that had broken when her foot had left it, releasing one more fireball at the last clone— which was now only a few feet away from her —and incinerated it.

_And _that's _three!_

Now alone on the water again, Korra paused to catch her breath. She was sweaty and tired, but the payoff was more than worth it.

After brainstorming a few possible ideas for her newly—discovered ability, Naruto and Korra had decided to head to the lake and see if any of them would work. The one that Korra had wanted to focus on the most was trying to find some way to incorporate some of her other bending abilities into it as well— walking on water was just _awesome_, but it wouldn't have been very practical if she couldn't use her bending as well.

As they had discovered, using firebending—and presumably airbending once she had unlocked it—actually wasn't that difficult. It just took a great deal of concentration and control over her movements.

One wrong move, one small lapse in concentration, and she would plummet into the water.

Korra _loved_ it.

Even all those years training with the Order couldn't compare to the sheer adrenaline that rushed through her body while she fought off the unending stream of blonde clones.

Training with Naruto was more draining yet more exhilarating than anything she had ever experienced before in her life, and during their sessions, Korra found that just about all of her worries—such as her inevitable encounter with Amon—just disappeared.

"Hey, Korra!" Naruto's shout broke into her thoughts. "That's enough for today, come on back!"

Still grinning, Korra did as he suggested, moving back to the shore.

Once she was within a few feet of Naruto, Korra gave a somewhat breathless "_That_ was incredible!"

Naruto's lips turned upward, and he was about to answer, when they both heard a familiar voice exclaim "So this is where you train."

They both paused, before turning to the direction of the voice to see Asami making her way towards them, smiling with a slightly awed look on her face, and Korra could only guess that she had seen them training.

"So is this what you guys normally do?" Asami asked a tad hesitantly.

"Yep!" Korra answered happily before Naruto even opened his mouth.

For some reason, the statement made Asami frown slightly, before she seemed to gather her courage and continued. "I want to join you."

_What?_ Korra paused, unsure if she had heard the older girl correctly. "What did you say?"

Asami meet her gaze, all of her attention seemingly focused on her. "My father is working with the Equalists," she began, and Korra had to resist the urge to wince— she had almost forgotten that. "I want to find out _why,_ and you seem like the best chance I'll have to do that."

Korra still hesitated. While she definitely understood Asami's reasons, and would normally welcome another friend, she still wasn't sure. She chanced a quick glance at Naruto, who only shrugged as if to say 'Your call.' "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Asami huffed in a way that vaguely reminded Korra of Lin. "I can take care of myself, you know," she started. "My father wanted to make sure that I could after—" Whatever Asami had been about to say was interrupted by the sound of two of Naruto's clones popping into existence before charging her.

Asami reacted quickly, though, dispersing the first clone with a hammerstrike that would have immobilized a normal human and grabbing the second by the throat before slamming it into the ground, where it too dispersed.

Breathing a little harder but showing no other signs being affected, Asami glanced over and noticed Korra's awestruck expression. "Like I said, I can handle myself."

"Damn." Naruto muttered under his breath, impressed despite himself. Yeah, he had intentionally made the clones weaker, but still.

"That was awesome!" Came a jubilant shout, and all three teens turned to see Bolin and Mako emerging from the same direction Asami had come from.

"Why are you guys here?" Asami asked quickly. So apparently she hadn't known that the two had been following her.

"Really?" Mako shot back, amusement in his eyes. "My best friend and my girlfriend"— Naruto raised an eyebrow at that and glanced over at Asami, but chose not to comment— "are planning to fight against a group of lunatics, and you thought we'd just… sit back and watch? I thought you guys would have known us better by now!" he finished with fake offense.

Korra could only stare, unable to form the right words, before she finally got out "You guys do know how dangerous this is going to be, right?" While she knew they could all fight if they had to, this was probably beyond what any of them were expecting.

"We're in." Mako replied confidently.

Meanwhile, Bolin had gone over to talk to Naruto. "So you're from another _world_?" he asked, wide—eyed.

"Yup." Naruto sighed. This would probably take time for them to get used to.

Bolin shrugged. "All right."

Naruto blinked— that was it?

"That's it?"

"Well," Asami broke in, apparently having overheard them, "compared to some of the things we've seen you do, you coming from another world isn't really all that far—fetched." She blinked, before muttering, "I can't believe I just said that." though she seemed more amused than anything.

"Yeah," Bolin agreed, "Korra was pretty clear about that."

Mako only shrugged, which Naruto took to mean he didn't care one way or the other.

"Okay, then?" he said, confusion still apparent on his face, causing Korra to snicker lightly.

"Alright!" Mako exclaimed, clenching his fist. "From now on, we're Team Avatar!"

Korra grinned again. "Team Avatar."

If nothing else, at least she wouldn't be alone.


	11. Cries of the Past

**AN: Hello readers, and welcome to the second arc of _The Avatar's Will of Fire!_ Let me explain: the past chapters have been meant to serve as an introduction to this story's world as a whole; you know, bringing Naruto to Korra's world and setting up all the characters and what have you. I'm aware that the first arc does have some problems, to which I can only attribute my inexperience as a writer, but, now that I actually have some experience, I will hopefully be able to wirte a better story for it.**

**I will tell you that this arc is going to focus on the changes to _Korra's_ universe and how it got to that point. And by the way, these sparring sessions and training where there dosen't feel like any real danger? To paraphrase _Family Guy_, "Enjoy them now, because they're going the hell overboard!"**

**That said, I do deeply appreciated the support and feedback from those of you who have enjoyed the story so far, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy it.**

* * *

**Once again, Beta'd by Vandenbz.**

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**Chapter 8: Cries of the Past**

* * *

Taro liked the new base.

Whereas the Equalists' former headquarters was stationed on an island, an island which would have been spotted by just about anyone with a small amount of effort, the new headquarters within the vast networks of underground tunnels beneath the surface of Republic City negated that little concern. In addition, the Equalists could now carry out any future operations more effectively.

Overall, he couldn't complain about the place.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said about their new 'ally'.

Taro had never liked Hiroshi Sato from what he had read about him in the papers, and after meeting the man, he disliked him even more. To Taro, everything about Sato just _screamed_ weakness.

Well, the businessman _was_ one of their main economic sources, so Taro could put up with him for as long as he had to. Though he still wanted to kill the man every time Sato started talking. Like he was now.

"You assured me that our people would be prepared to fight a war. We haven't even put a dent in our enemy's forces." He said in that self-assured, pompous way that Taro had quickly come to hate.

"_My_ people. Remember that you were the one who came to me." Amon shot back instantly. Apparently Sato tested even _his _patience.

Sato clenched his jaw, but accepted the rebuke silently.

"And it is not something _you_ need concern yourself with." He continued. "Once you deliver the rest of your weapons, things will change."

It was utterly patronizing, and it served to remind Sato of his place, and the man left as quickly as possible, fists clenching in anger.

It was some of the best entertainment Taro had had outside of a fight in years.

He became serious again when he felt Amon's gaze land on him.

"We're almost ready." He said, and Taro was sure there was a hint of excitement in his voice.

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to wait a few more months." While he had no doubt they could at least do some serious damage as they were now, he had thought the plan was to wait until they had gathered more of their forces.

"The situation has changed." Amon answered.

Taro had no response to that, and so waited for him to continue.

"The metalbenders have our people," Amon began, and Taro had to fight the urge to grind his teeth at the memory that sprung up so he could focus on what his boss was saying. "I believe we need to correct that."

000

Naruto had to say, the metalbenders had some good training grounds. Maybe not quite as good as the ones back home, but very close.

In fact, they were surprisingly similar to Team 7's old training area. Apparently some things really didn't change, even in different worlds.

He was broken out of his musings when one of his shadow clones charged towards him, kunai drawn and aimed at his throat. Naruto sidestepped and drove a fist into the clone's chest, which would have immobilized any real opponent, but simply caused the clone to disperse.

Which meant now he only had to deal with the eight—formerly twenty—clones remaining.

He wasted no time and dashed to the other clones surrounding him. He would not be using any jutsus or weapons during this spar—aside from the obvious. For now, he wanted to focus on his stamina, speed, and endurance, which for some reason seemed to have weakened a bit ever since he had first come here. He still hadn't worked that one out.

At the edge of the field, two metalbenders had wandered near the training ground he was using, drawn by the sound of the (very) intense fighting that had been going on for the past three hours, and were now watching the struggle before them in slack-jawed astonishment.

"Hey, Min?" One of the metalbenders asked his partner, still not taking his eyes off the fighting blondes. "Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this. Because if I am, then I'm going to have to quite the force."

No response. "Min?" He asked again, still unable to tear his eyes away.

His partner replied dazedly "I _want_ to say it's real, but I'm afraid of what that would mean."

Before either man could do or say anything else, they were jolted back to reality by a curt "Gentlemen."

The two turned, startled, to find themselves face-to-face with Lin herself, staring down at them sternly. "Don't you two have jobs to do?"

While neither one of them really wanted to leave just yet—if their chief wanted to talk to the odd kid personally, it must have been for something _good_—they both knew there was no arguing with her, and so gave her crisp salutes and made their way back to the station. They also knew that whatever it was that had just happened, the chief would kill them if they ever spoke about it to anyone.

For his part, Naruto had known that he was being watched—he was a _ninja_, how could he not?—he had known that they weren't threatening, and so chose to ignore them in favor of his training. When Lin had shown up, however, he knew that she wanted something, and since he had apparently just gotten off her bad side, he felt that it wouldn't be wise to keep her waiting.

Time to finish this, then.

As one of the two remaining clones got within range, Naruto grabbed its arm rather than destroy it, twisting the arm within his grasp and forcing the clone to release its kuani, which he grabbed and threw towards the final clone, slamming his knee into the captured clone's gut.

Slightly out of breath from the three-hour training session, Naruto turned his attention to Lin, looking her in the eyes. "Did you want something?"

Lin's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything about whatever it was that had bothered her. "Actually, I wanted to know if you would be interested in a spar." There. That was done.

Naruto blinked, surprised. He certainly hadn't been expecting _that_. While he normally may have jumped at the chance—clones were a poor substitute for an actual sparring partner—he couldn't help being wary as he recalled Lin's suspicions of him until recently. "Why?"

The older woman paused before answering, as if she was struggling to come up with the right words. Naruto tried to apply what knowledge of body language he had, but he couldn't find any signs of aggression. At least, not aggression aimed at _him_.

After a lengthy pause, she told him, "As you know, I was the moderator for your spar with Korra. I was impressed. I wanted to see how _I_ would measure up against you." Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this. A few days ago she had all but hated him (okay, maybe that was a bit strong, but still), and now she wanted to _spar _with him? There _had _to be another reason, but for the life of him he couldn't think of one.

Perhaps picking up on his hesitance, Lin sighed. "Look, kid, there's no hidden agenda here. I'm not trying to exploit you, I'm not going to "interrogate' you—"Naruto couldn't help his sheepish smile at that—"I'm just offering a spar. Nothing more."

Naruto still didn't quite trust her, but he figured he may as well give her a shot. "Any conditions?" He asked, curious to see if she'd make any concessions.

"No… techniques." She responded quickly, for some reason hesitating mid-speech.

Okay, he could work with that. "And what about weapons?" He persisted, subtly glancing towards his kunai.

Her answer this time was far more assured. "Blades would be permitted."

So, she had weapons of her own, huh? Well, that made things interesting.

Naruto grinned, excited at the prospect of another spar despite still having misgivings about the earthbender. "You're on. I could use a good cool-down anyway."

Lin only gave a brief nod, though Naruto could swear he saw a flash of eagerness in her eyes as she moved to the opposite end of the training ground.

Naruto prepared his kunai, but frowned when he saw the older woman just standing there, waiting. "You sure you want me to use a weapon?"

Now Lin smirked, and Naruto _knew_ that he hadn't imagined that eagerness. "You might want to get another another knife." She said, almost smugly.

He was about to correct her (they were _kunai_, dammit!) when gave a quick flick of her wrist, revealing two solid-steel blades that extended slightly past her forearms.

Rather than feeling intimidated by the sight of the weapons, Naruto grinned widely before taking Lin's advice and drawing a second kuani, preparing himself. _Now_ things got interesting.

That was his last thought before Lin charged towards him, wrist-blade lashing out, which Naruto met with his own kunai in a shower of sparks.

Lin quickly retaliated, bringing her _other _blade to his mid-section, which he parried just as quickly.

Naruto aimed a low kick at her knees—despite what some people (mostly civilians) seemed to think, things such as high kicks usually did little more than leave a whole sweep of openings for an opponent to exploit—forcing her to leap back, where the two eyed each other warily before meeting in the center again.

As had become something of a habit he had picked up from the war, a distant part of Naruto's mind began analyzing the older woman's fighting style. She was good—very good—but from what little he knew of Lin's style of fighting, she was no expert. Probably because she didn't have to use her weapons as much as her earthbending abilities. She wasn't as fast as some people he had encountered who used similar styles, but what she lacked in speed she more than made up in strength.

Every time he blocked her attacks, Naruto felt the jarring impact travel through his arm down to his body. The whole thing reminded him of his encounter with that earthbender who attacked the Island when he had first woken up, but it wasn't the same. Lin wasn't anywhere near as _tough_ as that guy had been, and even if her strikes had a similar strength behind them, even without reinforcing his body with chakra, Naruto could bear it. He'd have to look into it later.

There was another thing, though. He wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it felt like there was something… _missing_ from the earthbender's attacks, almost as if she wasn't focusing entirely on the spar. But then what _was _she thinking of?

His unasked questions were shortly answered when Lin actually _spoke_ mid-attack. "So, kid, what's your home like?"

Naruto was so startled by the unexpected question that he almost missed another strike, this one aimed at his arm, as he tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Pausing before he even attempted to answer her, Naruto looked into Lin's eyes as the two traded attacks and counter-attacks with each other, neither one anywhere close to overpowering the other.

As a shinobi, Naruto had been trained since a young age to read the body language of others, subtle signs that were incredibly difficult to control and which any ninja worth their salt would use to try and anticipate what that person was thinking. While he had absolutely flunked that part of training in the academy, Naruto had learned its uses while he had trained with Jiraiya, particularly during combat, when manipulating those signs would be even more difficult, if not impossible.

He was able to use this same skill now, despite the fact that he and Lin were still lashing out at each other at speeds that the untrained eye would be hard-pressed to track. Lin would be able to hide nothing from him at this point, and he could see nothing but pure, honest curiosity.

Was _that _why she had wanted to spar with him? She could have just _asked_, but he supposed this was more entertaining if nothing else.

Noticing Lin was waiting patiently for a response (while they were still fighting) Naruto answered. "If you mean my actual _home_, it's a great place. If you're talking about my _world_, it's nice enough when people aren't trying to kill you."

Naruto thought he saw Lin's lips twitch upward, but he couldn't be sure since he had to dodge her sweeping slash.

"You mentioned some kind of war?"

Naruto frowned; he thought that she'd finished the subject the other night, but once again, this time she simply seemed curious. "Yeah."

Lin attacked again with three quick jabs, all of which Naruto deflected with his kunai before giving her a strike of his own, which Lin blocked. "Care to talk about it?" Despite the still-rapid pace of the fight, Naruto thought he could detect a hint of concern in the question.

He sighed internally; he had known that at some point someone would ask him questions about the war, but that didn't mean he had been looking forward to it. The war wasn't something he liked thinking about, especially the catastrophe during the last month before the end. Still, Lin seemed to be making an effort to get to know him, even if it _was_ somewhat unusual, so he could make an effort as well.

"I guess it was similar to your hundred-year war a while back; some lunatic who"—Naruto blocked Lin's strike to his chest—"wanted to bring everyone under _his_ control"—another attack aimed at his knee—"and was willing to kill anybody who disagreed with him." As he finished, Naruto retaliated with jabs of his own, forcing Lin back on the defensive.

"It can't have been that simple." Lin noted as she dodged his attacks.

"It wasn't." Naruto agreed, not relenting. "But that's about as much as I can get out right now."

Lin broke away from him and put as much distance between them as possible, and the two fighters began circling each other, waiting for one of them to make the next move.

"How were you trained?" Lin asked again, still staring him down.

Naruto wasn't thrown by the seemingly abrupt change of subject; Lin must have picked up on his hesitance to talk about the war. If nothing else, he supposed he appreciated it. "I went to the academy when I was six and became an actual ninja when I was twelve."

Lin's eyes narrowed like they had when he had brought the war up the other night, but again without any hostility. "You've been training to kill since you were six years old?" Her tone was an odd mix of anger and something else he couldn't identify, though he wasn't sure what she was angry about.

Still, no point in hiding anything from her now. "Of course not; they didn't get into that part of our training until I was nine."

Lin frowned again, still appearing angry, but shifting her stance for another round. "And your parents approved of this?"

Naruto prepared himself as well, though he would wait for her to make the first move; since she seemed to be at her best when he was attacking her, Naruto would let her come to him this time. "My parents died the night I was born; their permission wasn't really an issue."

Lin paused, and again Naruto couldn't gauge her reaction before she acted, this time moving in to attack.

There was a lull in the conversation as they both chose to focus on the fight, though Naruto would be willing to bet that it was for different reasons. He just wanted to take his mind off the war and his past; he wasn't sure what Lin was thinking at the moment.

Eventually, the frenzied-yet-controlled attacks were broken by Lin again. "So how old _are _you, anyway?"

Naruto's answer was immediate as he deflected an attack aimed at his shoulder. "I turned seventeen about a month before I came here."

Lin paused, which Naruto took immediate advantage of to launch a series of continuous slashes targeting various vital points on Lin's body, forcing her back bit by bit.

The tables turned again, though, when Lin was able to counter his last attack, allowing her to regain her footing.

"So," she started again, and Naruto noticed that she was panting slightly, "You have any idea what Korra's working on?"

Naruto paused again, and attempted to read her body language once more, but again found no hints of an ulterior motive. "Meditation."

Lin raised an eyebrow, raising her blades again as she recovered her breath. "And how is _that_ going?" The question contained more than a little skepticism, and Naruto couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"I'd imagine she's very frustrated right now."

Lin smirked for a brief moment before they clashed again.

000

Korra was incredibly frustrated.

She had been trying to meditate—or "find her center," as Tenzin had put it—for a little over three hours, and she had gotten nothing!

No matter what she did, no matter how she started this exercise, Korra would invariably be in the same position as when she had started.

By this point, Korra would usually be venting her frustration—typically with something involving fire—but she tried to calm herself.

Korra knew that Naruto wouldn't allow his frustration to get to him like this, and he _was_ technically her teacher, so she supposed she should try and follow his example.

And it wasn't as if this was pointless; aside from maybe unlocking her airbending, if even half of the things that Naruto had told her about that… 'Sage Mode,' she thought he called it, and she could manage a fraction that, it would be more than worth the frustration.

That still didn't help her right _now_, though.

Korra had known from the start that meditation didn't have any 'tricks' to it; there would be no shortcuts, no convenient loopholes that she could use to get it down faster, but she hadn't anticipated making no progress at all in over three weeks total!

Korra sighed, opening her eyes. This was a lot more difficult than she would have thought.

_What would Naruto do?_

The question came almost without any conscious thought, but it was still a good one, and Korra knew the answer almost immediately.

Naruto wouldn't just sit there and whine. He wouldn't waste time feeling sorry for himself or blame his problems on anything else.

No, Korra knew on an almost instinctual level that Naruto would try and try again until he got it right.

So Korra took her previous position—a very rough imitation of what Tenzin had shown her—and tried again, attempting to ignore the heat rushing to her cheeks as she thought of Naruto.

Maybe she should talk to somebody about that. It had been happening far too often lately.

XXX

Later, Korra would never be able to tell anyone who asked when exactly it had happened. For a long while, she wouldn't even be sure what it _was_, because something told her that it wasn't what she had been trying to achieve.

But in the end, it had been far eclipsed by everything that would happen next.

XXX

An unknown period of time later, Korra opened her eyes to see that the world around her had changed.

She was no longer on the Island. Now she was in a vast, open plain, green grass spreading as far as the eye could see, interspaced with various different rock formations scattered throughout. The sky was a clear blue, with no clouds in sight.

Korra glanced around to see that she was alone. In fact, there was no sign of life around her at all.

"I don't think this was what Tenzin meant," She muttered out loud. There was no way this could be the whole "achieving balance " thing that Tenzin had always lectured her about.

"Indeed not." A wizened voice came from in front of her, despite the fact that she knew nothing had been there a moment ago.

Turning quickly at the sound, Korra's eyes widened when she saw who was standing in front of her.

Long silver hair and traditional Fire-Nation robes, he looked exactly like he had in her vision.

Roku.

He gave her a small smile as Korra desperately tried to get her mouth to work. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Avatar." He greeted formally, though not coldly.

Korra found the ability to form words again, but unfortunately had not gotten to the point where she could control them, because the first words out of her mouth were "Actually, I'm not the Avatar. Yet." Korra realized what she had said a moment too late, and immediately felt the urge to smack herself. This would probably be one of the biggest meetings of her life, and she just made herself look like an idiot.

Roku only chuckled in response, breaking Korra out of her thoughts. "I am grateful to see that the current Avatar is an honest one." He said warmly. "It is an admirable quality."

_Now_ Korra finally felt ready to speak without making an idiot of herself, and she decided it was time to get down to business. "What do you want?"

Roku's features grew grim. "To warn you."

Well, she wasn't expecting that. "About what?" she asked, bracing herself for whatever his answer would be. If it was big enough that Roku had to tell her personally, it _had_ to be serious.

"The boy. _Naruto Uzumaki."_ _What?_ Korra blinked, confused; what did _Naruto_ have to do with any of this?

Roku locked eyes with her. "The boy is dangerous, Korra." _What_?

Before Korra could protest, Roku continued. "You may not want to believe it, but every moment that _boy_ is here in our world, he puts all those around him at risk….

Korra felt her anger rise as Roku spoke, his words fading out as her was drawn back to what had happened just the day before…

_Korra smiled as she saw the normally composed and quite Jinora all but bouncing on her feet. "Is he here yet?"_

_Korra chuckled. "Asami and the others are bringing him Jinora; I'm sure he'll be here soon enough."_

_The young pouted at the answer, still barely containing her excitement. She supposed the same could be said Ikki and Meelo as well, although since that was how they normally acted, she couldn't really see much of a difference._

_Korra couldn't blame the kids for being excited. If she had to be honest with herself, she was too. She hadn't really taken part in something like this before._

"_Korra? Why are holding that so tightly?" Pema asked from beside her, and Korra looked down to see that her grip on her particular gift _was _a bit strong._

_Forcing herself to relax, Korra grinned sheepishly at Pema. "Just nerves, I guess."_

_Pema smiled warmly at her. "I'm sure you'll be fine."_

_The conversation was cut short by the sound of Naruto's voice from outside. "Alright Asami, you said the others had something I needed to see; what was it?" Korra thought she could hear a trace of exaggeration in Naruto's voice, even as she felt her heartbeat speed up._

_Asami giggled as she opened the door, leading Bolin and Mako into the room after her. "That would ruin the surprise, silly!"_

_Then Naruto entered as well, "Yeah sure—"_

_"SURPRISE!" Naruto was quickly cut off by Ikki and Jinora—Meelo had fallen asleep again—and he jumped, startled, before he realized the source of the sound._

"_Uh, hi?"_

_Chuckling, Pema quickly took charge. "We _do_ have something to show you, Naruto. Something we've been working on for quite a while, I might add."_

_At Naruto's obvious confusion, Pema smiled and gestured to his gift._

_Naruto saw what she meant, and Korra couldn't help thinking how _cute_ he looked when he was confused (she quickly did her best to force the thought out of her mind)._

"_Are those my clothes?"_

"…There are those who believe that his kind should have never been allowed to exist—"

"Shut. Up."

Roku blinked, clearly not expecting the interruption (_Arrogant bastard) _"I beg your pardon?"

"I said _shut up!_" Korra barked. She knew it was beyond stupid to piss of a sprit like Roku, but she just didn't care at this point.

"You think Naruto's dangerous?" she continued, hands clenching into fists, "Well, let me tell you something; Naruto is the only reason I'm still alive right now! If it wasn't for him, I would have been crushed less than a week ago! Not to mention that he saved _Aang's _family and just about everyone else when he first woke up here! So yeah, I can't say Naruto would never hurt _anyone_, but would you mind telling me what makes so dangerous to _me_?"

When she had finally finished, Korra paused, waiting for Roku's response, panting slightly from the rush of anger that seemed to be coursing through her entire body.

And then, Roku smiled. "I am glad to see you are loyal as well. You will need that loyalty soon enough"

_Huh?_

Seeing Korra's confusion, Roku explained, "I apologize for that, Korra; I had to know that you would not trust me blindly."

"I understand that this will not make sense to you right now, and I apologize again, but my time here is short, and I ask that you try and bear with me."

Korra would have given her consent, but she was still trying to wrap her head around everything that had just happened. Roku continued. "There is more to this war than you realize. These Equalists claim that they fight for the people of Republic City, and offer themselves as the natural solution to the failings of its government. This is a lie. Everything they claim to stand for is a lie. And I warn you now, if this Amon wins, the world will fall."

At Korra's ongoing silence, Roku said curtly "I imagine you have questions."

That was enough to break Korra out of her stupor. "YES, I have questions!" She bellowed. "What the _hell _are you talking about!?"

Roku sighed heavily, somehow conveying a regretful tone through the action. "The things you must know cannot be simply told, and you cannot be shown them before you are ready."

This was getting more confusing by the second. She had only been trying to meditate! How had _that_ turned into this?

"But you _can _learn them, in time." Roku finished, now waiting for her to react.

He did not have to wait long. "What are you talking about?" Korra repeated, though much more calmly this time. She figured she if she couldn't do anything to control this… meeting, then she may as well go along with it.

Roku paused, almost as if he were uncertain. "I cannot guarantee that you will be unscathed by this, Korra."

What did he mean by that?

Roku gazed at her solemnly. "What I am about to pass onto you has fundamentally _broken_ those of weaker minds. While you were chosen to be the Avatar for a reason, I cannot say that you will be able to endure this."

Korra waited for him to continue, before she realized that was all he had to say.

"That's it?" If whatever he was going to do was as dangerous as he said, couldn't he elaborate a little?

No answer.

Korra sighed, realizing that this was something the spirit wanted her to decide for herself.

So, what choices did she have? Naruto had stressed the need for planning things like this, and while he had admitted that it wasn't his strong suite, Korra could understand the importance, and figured now would be as good a time as any to start.

The most obvious choice was to refuse, which would most likely result in her 'waking up,' so to speak, and she could do the same thing she had been up to this point.

On the other hand, it sounded like whatever Roku wanted to show her was important too, maybe even something that could help bring down the Equalists altogether. But she also had no idea what would happen to her; she wasn't sure what it was, what it would do, or even if it would really help her.

But in the end, the choice was a simple one. She was the Avatar, and it was her duty to protect the people. If that meant risking herself with this, then so be it.

"I'll do it," she said, looking Roku right in the eye.

Roku nodded grimly, though she thought there was a hint of pride as well. "So be it." He proclaimed, unknowingly echoing her own thoughts.

—And then she was back in the real world, still the same as she had been before, albeit panting heavily.

Once she had caught her breath, Korra checked on herself, finding no obvious changes.

"Well that was a let-down."

000

Beyond the mortal plain, former Avatar Roku watched the with a heavy heart as Korra faded from view. There were many who would consider what he had just done unforgivable, a crime against nature itself, and he shuddered at the thought of what would become of Korra if he was wrong and it was all too much for her to bear.

But he knew that this was the only way, regardless of how much he might hate himself for it.

"This is the only way." He heard from behind him, and he didn't need to see who had spoken to know who it was.

Roku had not wanted to form an alliance with _that_ particular being, but he was rapidly running out of options. They all were.

"Aang does not approve."

He could all but hear the answering smile. "And that is why you both came to me."

Roku's eyes tightened, the only visible sign of his aggravation, but he knew the words were true.

"I must admit, I question our judgment." Roku said, ignoring the comment.

"Oh?" Outsider—Roku refused to call him by that ludicrous title he had chosen for himself—question. "And what, precisely, troubles you?"

"Our focus." Roku answered. Assuming the following silence was meant for him, Roku elaborated, "Korra has an army that rivals nations arrayed against her, and yet we choose to focus on a single man."

A snort. "I would hardly call _him_ a 'man' at this point." And Roku hid a smile; on this at least, they agreed.

The Outsider continued. "And we both know that a victory by _him_ would render the point moot."

He was right, of course, but that just raised more problems. No Avatar had ever needed to stand against what Korra would soon face.

"Shouldn't you return to your own realm soon?" The question may have come out a bit testily, but it was still valid. The Outsider would be of no use to anyone dead.

He smiled in that way that only he seemed to be able to pull off, that same mix of understanding with a hint of condescension.

"Korra is stronger than you give her credit for." The spirit turned to leave, midnight cloak swishing around him.

"She is already stronger by far than _some_ of her predecessors." And then he was gone.

That comment incredibly vexing, but Roku certainly couldn't respond to it.

Instead, he turned his attention elsewhere, towards what had driven him to seek the Outsider out in the first place.

It was coming. Soon.

Roku hoped that the others were right, and this Naruto Uzumaki was capable of what they claimed.

If he _or_ Korra failed, the Dírén would devour them all.

000

Naruto grinned as he gathered his chakra, the most he had gathered since he had first come to this world.

He was getting back in shape.

True, he was still nowhere near what he had been capable of before coming to this world, but at least he wasn't as weak a kitten anymore.

He and Lin had fought for the better part of an hour, and when it became clear that neither one of them would be able to pull ahead while they were both holding themselves back so much, they had called it a draw. Lin hadn't made much of his abilities, only saying he was 'decent,' but if that glint in her eye was anything to go by, Naruto would be sparring with her again soon.

Focusing, Naruto gathered more chakra, so much that it became visible, a blue aura surrounding the outfit that Pema and the others had repaired.

Naruto still couldn't believe that they had done that for him, and that Asami, Mako, and Bolin appeared to be in on it as well, despite not knowing him all that long yet. What had really gotten to him, though, was the gift he had received from Korra. Iruka's headband, now wrapped around his right arm, fully repaired and in the same condition as it was before the last battle.

Naruto had noticed that the headband's cloth was different, about the same color as the clothes that Korra was wearing, and he had been surprised to learn that Korra had repaired it with her own hands (under Pema's supervision), using traditional colors of her tribe. Naruto hadn't known what to say. To Korra, repairing the headband had simply been an act of kindness, but she had no idea how much it really meant to him. Maybe he would be able to tell her someday.

But for now, Naruto would focus on his techniques. He still wasn't sure what was up with the Shadow Clones, but he figured that he could work that out in time.

Speaking of which…

Forming a shadow clone, the blondes went trhough the familiar pattern, and when the clone dispersed, Naruto now had what appeared to be a fully-formed _Rasengan_ in his hands, although it was much larger than the last one he had used.

"_Oodama Rasengan!"_

* * *

**Okay, so some quick notes:**

**About the spar with Lin, it might seem out of character for her, but I wanted to try and explore Lin's character and focus more on Naruto's past without just rehashing things that have already been done before in this story (or any other on this site) and try something unique. _I_ think it was unique, at any rate.**

**And about the side-effects of the Kage Bunshins, well... hintity-hint-hint.**

* * *

**Omake (inspired by Vandenbz):**

Korra grinned again. "Team Avatar."

If nothing else, at least she wouldn't be alone.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that." Naruto interjected casually. "It's a little on the nose, don't you think?"

"What are you talking about? It's perfect!" Bolin exclaimed. "It's _Team Avatar_!"

"Yeah, and what would you suggest anyway Naruto?" Asami asked, smiling slightly.

"Team Uzumaki." Naruto said smugly, which led to him and Bolin debating the finer points of "Team Names."

_Well, at least they have their priorities straight_, Korra thought, though she couldn't help the affectionate smile that spread across her face.

She could only shake her head at Naruto's uncanny ability to lighten the mood.


	12. The Calm

**Chapter 9: The Calm**

* * *

Beta'd (in part) by Vandenbz

* * *

Tenzin frowned heavily. "I don't like this."

Across from him, Lin only nodded, knowing full well what he was talking about and not really having anything to say.

Tenzin sighed again and began to pace the room, restless. He supposed from a certain point of view that Tarrlok's plan was sound, but it still felt like a betrayal of everything he believed. The fact that the rest of the council approved it unanimously only made it sting that much more.

How had his father's vision for a better world fallen so far? Republic City was meant to be a shining beacon of hope, freedom, and peace for the world, and now, they were willing to put innocent people in danger for a chance to draw the Equalists out?

"How could you just stand by and let them do this?" He asked, finally rounding on Lin. He knew that she had no control over these things, but he needed to vent his frustration _somehow_.

But he also knew that Lin wouldn't put up with it. "You know full well that I have no control of the decisions of your associates, _Councilor_." Despite the harsh words, there was no bite in Lin's tone; they were too close for any real anger between them.

Tenzin sighed again. "They plan to have this… reception, using the City Hall as some sort of statement of our city's resolve against the Equalists, hoping to draw them out?"

Lin shrugged again, though Tenzin knew her well enough to read the telltale signs of anger in her stance. "Like I said, nothing we can do about it."

Tenzin knew that Lin had no blame in this. Even though she was the head of the police force, that didn't mean she had any power over the council, and was still bound to obey their decisions. A distant part of his mind knew that even Tarrlok wasn't the one to blame- he was just following orders. Though Tenzin did have to wonder how Tarrlok of all people had managed to conceive such a plan. For a supposed career politician, the man had proven to be very adept when it came to fighting the Equalists.

Needing to turn his thoughts to a more positive topic, he decided to ask Lin about something that had been on his mind the entire night.

"So Lin…" he trailed off, considering his words. "About Naruto."

Lin's eyes narrowed. "What about him?" If he hadn't known the other woman for so long, Tenzin was sure he would have missed the almost-protective tone in her voice.

While some of his suspicions were confirmed right then and there, Tenzin pressed forward. "Why did you insist that he be part of this?"

Lin only shrugged. If there was anyone else around them, she probably would have denied it, but since they were alone, Lin felt that she could let her guard down. "His skills as a fighter are beyond question; I figured that, considering his more _unique_ history, he might be able to catch something that we miss."

Tenzin waited; he knew there was more to it.

He was rewarded with Lin's smirk. "That, and it's fun to make him squirm."

And that confirmed the rest of his suspicions. Over the last week, Tenzin had noticed that Lin had become quite fond of the boy. He supposed that it was because of the three spars the two had had over the last week- Lin could gauge a person's character with surprising accuracy once she had fought them, and in Naruto's case, she must have seen something she liked.

000

Mako would never admit it to anyone—he was having enough trouble admitting it to himself—but he was nervous.

He knew there was no reason for it, it wasn't like this was his first date with Asami after all, but that didn't help his nerves one bit.

Really, what man _wouldn't_ get at least a little nervous when a woman as gorgeous as Asami Sato had her arms wrapped around his shoulders? Not to mention that his own arms were around her waist.

Asami laughed lightly. "You're acting like you've never done this before."

"… I haven't." That was the only response Mako could think of. Sure, he got plenty of admiration from his female fans, but that didn't automatically translate to going on dates with them. That was more Bolin's thing.

Mako had never pictured himself dancing at any type of formal event, but he knew that dancing was something that Asami enjoyed, so he could at least make an effort. The style of dancing wasn't anything remarkable—one of those slow-paced waltz songs you always heard about in stories—so there wasn't really _that_ high of a chance that he'd make an idiot of himself.

Asami sighed, giving him an amused smile that made his heart skip a beat and almost fumble in the process. "Well, at least you're not as bad as Korra."

"And how's Korra bad?" Mako asked, resisting a chuckle at the irritated frown that marred Asami's face at the question, while at the same time marveling that she still managed to look beautiful while doing so.

_Asami sighed as she watched the gentle swell of the ocean underneath the midday sun. She had to say, Korra was quite lucky to be able to call a place so beautiful home. Asami herself wished she could do the same, and she truly appreciated Korra offering her a place here, but no matter how much she might wish otherwise, this island would never be home to her. Besides, she had other matters to deal with, which was the main reason she found herself where she was now._

_Asami still didn't know what to do about her father._

_On one hand, everything pointed to the man being a traitor. Why else would he join with a group of people who wanted to take over Republic City for themselves? But on the other hand, if her father was a traitor, then why in the world would he give her one of his own weapons?_

_Asami had run through every possible scenario she could think of, ranging from something as simple as forgetting that the glove (gauntlet, really) was there, to the truly absurd, like leaving the gauntlet on purpose to track her somehow, even though she knew that was impossible._

_But none of these explained the letter. _

_Hiroshi Sato was a businessman, and as such, had impeccable handwriting. It was to be expected of someone in his position. So why did her name look like it was written while his hand was shaking?_

_Asami sighed; there were just too many questions, and nowhere near enough answers. Hopefully, if she fought alongside Naruto and Korra, she could find some._

_Asami was brought out of her thoughts when she caught sight of Korra out of the corner of her eye._

_She was just kind of… sitting there, staring out into the ocean from her perch on the cliff's edge. Curious, and admittedly needing something to distract herself, Asami started moving and slowly approached the Avatar._

"_Something on your mind?"_

"_Nothing really." Korra waved the question off, trying—and failing—to appear unconcerned._

_Once Asami stared her down for a few more moments, Korra relented. "I was wondering about the party."_

_Holding back the impulse to correct the younger girl, Asami simply settled on, "What about it?"_

_And Korra launched into a borderline ramble so fast that Asami found herself hard-pressed to keep up. "Well, they want me there as a 'guest of honor' or something, and Tenzin told me that I'm supposed to bring a guest, which I'm pretty sure is another word for 'date' here, and…"_

_Ah. "So you're just wondering how to ask him, then?" Asami asked, only have Korra look at her questioningly. "Ask who what?"_

What_? Was she being serious? _

_A closer look revealed that, yes, Korra really _didn't_ have any clue what she was talking about._

_Something told Asami that she was going to be here for a while._

"So… you basically _told_ Korra she liked him?" Mako asked, actually feeling pretty proud of her despite his questioning tone.

Asami sighed again. "No, I didn't tell her, but if she still doesn't know it after our little talk, she's even more dense than I thought."

000

Moving to the balcony, away from the lights, the music, and the _people_, Korra finally had a chance to catch her bearings.

Staring out at the skyline of Republic City, lights glittering like stars in the night, she felt her mind settle down.

Korra was normally quick to react in just about any situation, but something like this party was out of her depth. Add to that Tarrlok telling her what the event was _really_ for, and Korra found it doubly hard to just relax and enjoy herself.

Honestly, how could she relax when she had just been told not an hour ago that all of this was meant to draw out Amon? True, it may have also been the first time she had been to anything like this, but it was mostly the Equalists thing that was bothering her.

That and her 'meeting' with Roku still lingered in her mind.

What, exactly, had he done to her? Korra felt the same as always. Roku had told her that whatever he had done had broken people before, but she didn't feel anything.

What did that mean? Was _she _supposed to do something now? If so, what?

And Roku's _other_ message just confused her even more. She wasn't stupid; she knew that Naruto was fully willing to kill if things came to that. While she might not agree with him, she could understand where he was coming from.

But what about that would make a spirit like Roku dislike him so much?

"Hey, Korra." As if summoned by her thoughts, Naruto was suddenly with her on the balcony, leaning casually against the railing on the other side. A part of her was pleased to note that he was still wearing the headband she had fixed for him.

"Hey." She returned, feeling a large portion of her worries fading away, something that had become pretty common whenever she was around Naruto.

That didn't mean her mind was _completely_ blank, though. "So, why are you here?" It might have been a bit blunt, but the question was still valid; Naruto didn't really need to be here if he didn't want to be.

"It was Lin's idea." And Naruto's answer just brought up more questions. They were on a first name basis now?

Noticing her questioning stare, Naruto elaborated. "Yeah, I'm assuming you know what this is really about?" At Korra's nod, he continued. "Lin thinks that with me here, since I actually have some experience with these sort of things, I might be able to help. At least that's what she _says_." The last part came out in a mutter.

Pushing aside the fact that Naruto now seemed so familiar with the metalbender, Korra's mind latched onto his comment about his experience. The vision that she had had before Naruto had come here had been going through her mind again, more so ever since she met with Roku. Korra knew that it was really none of her business, and Naruto more than likely wouldn't want to talk about it, but she couldn't hold her curiosity back anymore.

"Naruto," she started, preparing herself for whatever his response would be, "what happened to you?"

At Naruto's questioning stare, she elaborated. "What happened during your… war?"

That same dark shadow was beginning to enter his eyes, and Korra pressed forward. "I know you might not want to talk about it, but—"

"It's fine, Korra." Naruto interrupted, locking his gaze with hers. "Ask away."

Korra relaxed a little bit. At least he wasn't pushing her away.

"You know that vision I told you about? The one I had before we met?" At Naruto's nod, she continued, figuring she may as well get what had been worrying her the most out of the way first. "Was the war always like that?"

Naruto's immediate "No." both relieved and worried her. She was relieved that what she had seen apparently wasn't a common thing for Naruto, but worried because he still seemed out of sorts to her.

"Well, what was it that I saw?" Korra already had a pretty good idea of what it was, but she wanted to at least try to keep Naruto talking.

There was a brief silence as Naruto seemed to consider what he was going to say. "That was the final battle in the war." So she'd been right. "It was… bad."

Well, Korra had figured that much. But any irritation she might have felt was washed away when she noticed Naruto's thoughts turning inward again, likely to those darker memories.

"So, what did _you_ do?" While she felt a strong desire to kick herself at the question, something told Korra that it would be best to just keep Naruto talking for the moment.

"My job was to kick the bad guys' assess." Naruto grinned, and Korra was glad to know she had been right. She was a bit chagrined, though that her natural reaction was to grin along with him.

"How did you learn to use chakra?" This had interested her since Naruto had first started their training. She just couldn't figure out why he could use it and she couldn't.

"Most people start the basics at school." _What_?

Though she felt a bit irritated at the teasing light in Naruto's eyes, Korra chose to ignore it.

"They taught you that in _school_?" Naruto was clearly enjoying her confusion, but Korra couldn't find it in herself to be mad about it.

"Well, not me." Naruto shrugged. "I didn't even learn basic chakra control until after my team was formed."

"And what was your team like?" Korra pressed, finding that she liked this cheerful side of Naruto a lot more than the other.

"Well," Naruto started, eyes going slightly distant as for once he lost himself in more pleasant memories, "one of my teammates was a girl named Sakura Haruno…"

000

Taking a deep breath, Taro concentrated. This would likely be the last chance any of them would get to prepare before things got started.

Taro himself definitely approved of the plan. This would be the Equalists's last strike before they started the _real_ war, and even though he acted as calm as ever, everyone could tell that Amon wanted to finish it with something epic.

It would be a four-pronged strike, using just about every Equalist that was currently in the city, and Taro had been placed in charge of the third phase. In many ways his would be the most important- the final, crushing blow to an already-crippled enemy, maybe even completely negating the need for reinforcements later.

Of course, that was the best-case scenario. Worst-case, the operation would be a complete failure and they'd all die, but Taro just didn't see that happening.

Either way, Taro could already tell that tonight was going to be _fun_.

000

"No way." Korra managed, barely able to hold in her laughter. She knew her mother would more than likely be horrified if she knew that her daughter was enjoying something like this, but Korra couldn't help herself.

Naruto wasn't anywhere near as amused, though. "It's not funny."

"Of course it isn't, Naruto." Korra agreed once she had calmed down enough, she knew her shaking shoulders said otherwise.

Naruto pouted. "He _poked _me in the _ass_!"

And Korra lost it, doubling over and almost having to lean against the balcony's railing through her laughter. Naruto shook his head, still pouting, but if he was honest with himself, he enjoyed seeing Korra like this.

By the time she had calmed down—she hadn't laughed like that in a _long_ time—Korra turned to him again, grinning widely. "I've _got _to meet this teacher of yours sometime!"

Naruto grinned, though Korra could tell his mind was on something else. "We'll see."

Korra frowned, wondering what Naruto was thinking about. "What is it?"

Naruto shook his head. "It's just… I haven't really been able to consider it yet, but… I wonder what things are like back home."

_Oh_. Korra's previous good mood now dissipated. She supposed she should have expected it. After all, Naruto had traveled to a completely different world. Who wouldn't wonder about the world they had left behind?

Maybe they could work on that once Amon and the rest of the Equalists had been dealt with, but right now, Korra found she wanted to come up with something that would help Naruto here, in this world.

Then she remembered her 'conversation' with Asami (Naruto had been right; it _was_ fun to mess with people). Korra still wasn't totally sure of her own feelings just yet, but she supposed just asking this couldn't hurt.

"Hey, Naruto…" Korra started, feeling her heart beat faster when Naruto's attention turned to her. "I was wondering if maybe you…" she gulped, for some reason having difficulty getting the words out. _Come on, just ask him! _"Do you, uh…" one last gulp. "…want to dance?"

Whatever response Naruto was about to give was cut off by a sudden blaring over the loudspeakers. _"People of Republic City."_ Amon's familiar, smoky voice came through. _Oh, you've got to be kidding!_ Korra thought angrily, distantly wondering why she felt so cheated.

XXX

"_For too long, the weak and the corrupt have tarnished this place, our home."_

Tarrlok briefly glanced up at the loudspeaker in his private office, feeling an acute combination of satisfaction that his ploy appeared to have worked, and regret that it had come this far. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

He knew that Lin and Tenzin had lost some of the fragile trust that they'd gained for him since they had started working together, and he couldn't really blame them. Tarrlok was having a great deal of difficulty reconciling all of this with his own conscious.

The others on the Council, Tenzin excluded—he had actually protested quite vehemently—believed that the best course of action was to draw Amon out, by providing him with a target that was simply too tempting to ignore. In this case, that target would be a reception, held in the City Hall.

While he had to appreciate the plan's logic, Tarrlok personally felt that it was one of the most idiotic ideas he had ever heard. That other members of the Council later added onto the plan, by having the metalbenders use the reception as a cover to escort the Equalist prisoners to a different safe house only cemented his opinion.

But he knew his duty, and he would do as the Council asked of him, regardless of his own opinions of the people who were in charge at the moment.

Still, he was surprised to find that he actually _cared_ about Lin's and Tenzin's opinions. Was he actually starting to _like_ these people?

Well, at any rate, those two made far better companions than the rest of the spineless cowards on the Council.

XXX

"_But now, we break their chains. Now a new era of true equality will begin!"_

Lin couldn't help snorting while she listened to the man's drivel. Whatever it was the Equalists had planned, she was confident that the metalbenders, along with the other members of the police force, would be able to handle it. They had lost eight of their own to these people already; they would _not _lose another.

Ignoring the ramblings blaring through the city's broadcast system, she turned back to her work.

She was in charge of making sure that the transfer of the Equalist prisoners that they had managed to capture so far went smoothly, though why some politician who had never even been in a fight before thought they would be better off with the prisoners in a safe house rather than behind bars was beyond her.

That was another thing she had found she shared with Naruto; an instinctive dislike for bureaucrats.

Turning back to her men, who had paused when Amon began speaking, she barked, "Well? What are you people waiting for? Get moving!"

Chastened, the metalbenders moved again.

XXX

"_Our revolution begins now. Tonight is the night that we, the people of Republic City, the city's rightful rulers, take our lives into our own hands."_

The minute Amon started speaking, Taro began his part of the operation.

He almost hadn't believed it when Amon had told him his job. How could the enemy leave such a vital part of the city completely unguarded? And if they _were _that stupid, what did that say about the Equalists if they hadn't managed to defeat them already?

But, of course, once he had reached his destination, Taro had found it completely unguarded, aside from the firebenders who were supposed to work there in the first place. And that just pissed him off.

Did the idiots in charge really believe that the they wouldn't take advantage of something like this? Or were they just so arrogant that they thought any enemies would never be able to get near it?

Well, either way it didn't matter. Once the place was destroyed, or at least damaged enough, Republic City would remember _this _for a long time to come.

XXX

"_The road to this equality will not be without sacrifice, however…"_

Korra couldn't concentrate on whatever it was that Amon was saying, she too busy trying to fight back the pain in her head. Almost the instant she had heard his voice, her head felt like it was splitting open, and her mind was suddenly bombarded with countless images and sensations, none of which were she recognized. She could vaguely make out a few of the things that were passing through her mind, but never anything solid, and they always seemed to fade when she tried to focus on them.

"_Your insanity will doom us all!"—_

"_I look forward to working with you, Mr. S—"_

—_But now, he had true power. Now, his goal would be achieved, no matter how difficult it might be. He was going to—bending—the world. _

_And with the power of the Dírén, _nothing _would stand in his way._

—"Korra!" And then it was over, and she was back on the balcony, back with Naruto. And he was grasping her arm.

"I'm fine!" Korra squeaked (_Squeaked_? She did _not _squeak!), jumping back as if she'd been burned.

Naruto looked confused, but was once again interrupted, this time by Bolin and the others bursting through the door. "I'm guessing you guys heard the crazy man." He stated more than asked.

Naruto and Korra just gave him a deadpanned stare. "Okay, then."

"Does anyone have any idea what he's planning?" Mako asked, deciding not to question if they were going to do anything about. He, Bolin and Asami had decided to help Korra, so they'd probably have to get used to things like this.

His question was answered, though by the sound of an explosion, far in the distance but loud enough that it must have been massive, before all the lights in the city flickered and died.

"Never mind."

000

As soon as the lights went out, the Equalist squad moved.

They would be the first wave, the opening salvo, and none of them wanted to be the one that screwed everything up for the rest of the plan. While their part would be separated from the other two waves, it would be one of the most vital for the overall war, maybe even enough so that they could end the fighting tonight.

The nine-man squad (there were sixteen of them, but the other seven had stayed behind to intercept and delay the Avatar when she inevitably showed up) made their way to their objective; Tarrlok's office.

Many of the squad were exited at the prospect of such an opportunity; they knew how the death or capture of a man like Tarrlok would damage Republic City's cause, while at the same time strengthening their own greatly.

While there were no benders among the squad now, the man in charge knew that nine of some of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the Equalists would be more than enough to defeat some politician who had never even been in a real fight.

That was his last thought before a shard of ice, small but razor-sharp and moving at an incredible velocity, slammed through his skull.

000

"We've gotta get moving!" Korra barked, knowing that whatever the Equalists had done, they had to stop it.

Bolin and Mako paused. "How?" The two asked almost in unison.

Asami followed up before Korra could say anything in response. "We don't know what they did, Korra. And even if we did know that, we have no idea of how many of them there are. How are we supposed to figure that out?"

Korra paused, reluctant to concede the older girl's point, but knowing that she was right.

"I've got an idea." Naruto broke in, smirking. "Just give me a little while."

A part of Korra wasn't sure, having little to no idea of what Naruto had planned, but she knew that Naruto wouldn't let them down.

"Do it."

She didn't need to speak, though, because Naruto had already closed his eyes, appearing to concentrate on something.

The others clearly weren't as sure of Naruto's abilities as she was, casting doubtful glances her way, but they realized that there wasn't anything else they could do at the moment.

Bolin moved over to Korra, still staring at Naruto with no small amount of confusion. "So, what's he doing?"

Korra could only shake her head. "I'm not sure."

Bolin glanced at her questioningly. "How could you not know?"

"Hey, I don't—" Korra stopped mid speech, eyes wide, as she realized that Naruto had changed.

Naruto was still the same, aside from his eyes. Since they were still closed, Korra couldn't tell if his eyes themselves had changed at all, but his eyelids now had an odd reddish pigment surrounding them.

"W-what _happened_?" Bolin managed shakily, Asami and Mako appearing equally shocked.

"Sage Mode." Korra breathed in a soft tone, remembering Naruto's description of the ability.

Before the others could ask her what she meant, Naruto finally spoke up, drawing the group's attention to him.

"Alright, I can pick out some energy signatures across the city." Now Naruto opened his eyes, revealing a gold-yellow iris with his pupils in a rectangular shape.

"There's one big pulse over there." He gestured to the direction of one of the government buildings.

"—I think that's Tarrlok's office." Asami broke in. Korra briefly wondered how she knew that, but choose not to question it.

"Right." Naruto nodded. "It looks like he's fighting off a group of nine Equalists." He paused. "Make that eight." Korra felt a chill travel up her spine as she realized what _that _meant, but tried to ignore it. This wasn't the time for doubts.

"Then, I can sense one guy over there." Now, Naruto pointed over in the direction of the power plant, where Korra thought the explosion had come from.

"And there's a few more over there." This time, the group's attention was brought over to the downtown district, almost on the other side of the city from where they were standing.

Naruto let out a breath, his eyes returning to normal. "That's all I can get right now."

Korra still smiled. It was more than enough. "Okay, I'll cover Tarrlok." It was only fair—he'd saved _her_ life, after all. "What about the rest of you?"

Bolin chimed in immediately. "We can take the power plant."

"No way." Naruto stated, his expression deadly serious. "Whoever that guy over there is, he was able to cause all of this _by himself_." Bolin's eyes widened as Naruto's words sunk in, cutting off any protests he might have had.

"How about we take the ones downtown?" Mako suggested calmly.

Naruto seemed to think about it for a few seconds before nodding. "That'll work. I'll go with Korra; I think there're some other guys there that I might have missed."

"Alright, let's do this!" Korra exclaimed, pounding her fist into her palm as she spoke.

Asami nodded. "Follow me." She, Mako and Bolin turned back to the entrance before she paused when she realized that Naruto and Korra weren't with them. Turning back, she saw that Korra had started to follow them, only to seemingly be held back by Naruto's hand on her shoulder. "Something wrong?" She decided to ignore the sight of Korra's flushed cheeks.

Naruto grinned. "Nah. I've just got a faster way for us."

Korra turned to him, confusion in her eyes. "What are you talking about—" she was cut off as Naruto grabbed her, carrying her in a bridal position. "Just trust me." He grinned again, and Korra could only manage a meek nod in response, privately wondering what the_ hell_ was wrong with her.

Her thoughts were cut short, though, when Naruto abruptly leapt off the roof, resulting in a scream of terror from the Avatar, before he landed on the next building and repeated the process.

Back at City Hall, Asami could only stare blankly at the spot where Naruto had stood, knowing what had happened but unable to come to terms with it.

Turning back to Mako and Bolin, who were seemed just as surprised as she was, she finally managed, "You guys okay with pretending that didn't just happen?"

Her response was a pair of weak nods.

"Okay, then."

000

Jumping to another building, Naruto reviewed what he had been able to sense during his time in Sage Mode. If nothing else, he hoped that it would help take his mind off the fact that he was carrying a (very) good-looking girl in his arms.

It was odd, to say the least. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting, but his Senjutsu seemed to be far more potent here. He hadn't known if sensing others in this world would work the same way it did back home, since no one seemed to use chakra, but if anything, the signatures of benders were even clearer now.

While the Equalists he could detect hadn't seemed to pose any real threat, there was one thing that worried him.

Over by one of the streets on the other side of the city, where Naruto could recognize Lin's signature, there was… something else. Whatever it was, Naruto _thought_ that it was just one man, like the guy over by the power plant, but his signature seemed almost distorted somehow. Naruto didn't know how to describe it, really, but something told him that it was dangerous. And whatever it was, it seemed to be heading straight towards Lin.

Focusing, Naruto channeled his chakra, creating two more Shadow Clones mid-air before the both headed off to their assigned destinations.

That done, Naruto turned his attention back to Korra, who was currently gazing at the passing landscape below them in wonder. His mind was drawn back to the balcony, Korra asking if he wanted to dance. He had admit that, while maybe not drop-dead gorgeous, Korra _was_ attractive. _Oh, damn hormones!_

He opened his mouth, about to ask her about any plans she might have had, before he suddenly had to veer off course to avoid an oncoming fireball.

Glancing around, Naruto saw a group of seven Equalists, four behind him and three to his front, that had somehow managed to sneak up on them. While they couldn't make any big leaps like he could, they were still able to keep up, leaping from building to building.

They must have been sent to block Korra.

Korra seemed to realize it too. "What now."

Naruto grinned mischievously. "I've got an idea."

"What are you planning?" Korra asked with narrowed eyes, clearly having some idea already and not liking it.

Glanced down at her, still grinning. "Just try to land on your feet."

And then she wasn't in his arms anymore, Naruto somehow managing to grab hold of her hand in the air as he began spinning, leaving Korra to wonder what he was doing.

Wait a second, didn't Bolin mention that Naruto had done this back in the factory? Korra's eyes widened as realization hit her. "Oh, you little…"

And suddenly she was airborne as Naruto released her, flying through the air at speeds that felt like they would have broken a normal person's neck.

"BASTARRRRD!"

000

Naruto couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as he heard Korra's fading scream in the distance. She might be a little pissed at him when all this was over, but she'd be alright. Probably.

Naruto's grin faded, his features becoming more serious as he turned his attention to the Equalists still perusing him. They seemed to be keeping their distance, but Naruto could tell that they were only waiting for him to make the first move.

He could work with that.

With one last burst of chakra to his legs, Naruto propelled himself towards the streets below, aware of the Equalists following him along the way. Landing, Naruto took in his surroundings, from the buildings lining either side of the street he had found himself in to the group of seven Equalists that now surrounded him.

He whipped out the kunai from his leg-holster, simultaneously drawing a shuriken and throwing it at the nearest enemy. While the Equalist managed to deflect it with what appeared to be writs-blades like what Lin used, he had no defense against the following blast from the attached explosive note.

One down.

Gripping the kunai, Naruto charged towards the next opponent.


	13. The Storm: Part 1

_AN: First, I apologize for the delay. I really have no excuse, other than I was trying to make this chapter as good as possible. Second, because I have limited access to the internet at the moment, this chapter is un-beta'd, so if the quality seems lower, that's probably why._

**The Storm: Part 1**

* * *

The layout of Republic City could best be described as haphazard. If one were being generous.

Some would argue that the streets had been made this way on purpose – it _had _been made with an airbender's approval, after all – but even they had to admit that the layout made little to any sense if one were to look at it rationally.

Really, what kind of city had its government offices _on the other side of town _from City Hall? Many had tried to come up with some kind of logical reason for why the city had been built this way, but none had been able to so far.

This wasn't even counting the streets themselves, some of them seeming like they could go on miles, while others were barely the length a city block.

It was on one of the former streets that a Satomobile, maybe not new but still top of the line, powered through at speeds that went well beyond the approved limits.

Most people wouldn't have guessed it when they first met her, but Asami Sato was an incredibly skilled driver. She wasn't really sure where she got it from – she knew for a fact that her mother, while she had still been alive, had never driven that much, and her father could barely handle a care going faster than 50mph.

Naturally, this meant that the man used every excuse in the book to avoid being in a car (or any vehicle) if Asami was the one behind the wheel. And although Mako and Bolin were unaware of this, had they known, they would have instantly sympathized with him. Asami had chosen to drive the group over to the party, and now she was the one driving them towards the Equalists downtown. Mako and Bolin were seriously wondering if they would have been better off with Korra and Naruto.

"Uh, Asami?" Bolin managed to choke out, having to brace as Asami made another high-speed turn. "You _do _know this isn't a race track, right?" The last part of the question came out in far higher pitch than he would have liked to admit due to the incredibly sharp turn Asami made at that moment.

"Yeah, why?" Asami asked distractedly, too focused on her driving to pay any attention to the younger boy. Although, now that she thought about it, her father had asked something similar the first time he had ridden with her. And the instructor he had hired after that first ride.

"W-well-" Bolin was cut off during yet another sharp turn. Swallowing, he started again. "I just thought you might not have known, is all."

Neither he nor Mako – who was riding next to Asami and gripping onto his seat for dear life – were reassured at all when the older girl actually turned her head backwards to address them, somehow managing to swerve around the stalled cars in front of them. "Are you saying I'm a bad driver?" There wasn't any real heat in her voice, but both boys could tell that they were on thin ice here.

"No, no, no." Bolin hastily replied in a desperate attempt to prevent Asami's impending anger. "It's just that—"

He was cut off again by Mako's unusually panicked ,"EYES ON THE ROAD!"

Asami turned back, eyes widening as she saw that they were almost out of road, about to crash into the back of a rather large building. Asami quickly slammed the wheel hard to the right, managing to take them into an alleyway that was just barely wide enough for the car to drive through. The cars' mirrors were snapped off as they collided with the walls, though.

This set Bolin into a panic again. The way she was driving, Asami was going to get them killed before the Equalists!

"What was that!?" Oh, crap, did he say that out loud?

Mako, for his part, had decided to just close his eyes and wait for it all to be over. If someone had asked him just a few days ago if he ever wondered how he might die, Mako would have never in a million years guessed that his death would come at that hands of a girl who seemed to have no concept of traffic laws.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was probably less than a minute, the car emerged out of the alley and into one of the main roads again, much to Mako's and Bolin's relief. "Any chance you want one of us to drive?" Mako already had a pretty good idea of what his girlfriend's response would be, but there was no harm in asking, right?

"Why, afraid I might get you killed, too?" Yep, about what he expected.

"I think she's pretty damn good!" Naruto chimed in as he ran alongside them.

"Thanks, Naruto." It was nice to know that Naruto, at least, had faith in her driving skills. Wait… _ran alongside them?_

"HOLY S—" Asami cut herself off – a lady didn't curse, at least not with company – as she slammed down of the brakes as hard as possible, the car skidding to a stop right at the edge of the sidewalk.

Naruto, who had needed to leap higher in order to avoid the car as it all but swerved over in his direction, made his way over to the others, a bit concerned at both Asami's reaction and the fact that her hands were shaking. "Uh, you okay?"

Asami, still looking shaken, leveled a glare at him. "What in the world are you doing here!?" Her question ended in something that resembled a shout.

Naruto blinked, as if he was confused as to why she was so rattled. "I thought you might need some help?"

Asami's eyes narrowed, and Naruto could have sworn her heard a growl coming from her throat. "And why are you _helping_ me instead of staying with Korra?" In her opinion, whether Naruto was actually helping or not was debatable. At the very least, if he wasn't here, she wouldn't have nearly crashed the car.

Naruto blinked, as if confused, before he seemed to work out what she was asking. "Oh, that! You don't understand; I'm just a clone! The Boss is helping Korra right now!"

Asami paused, her mind struggling to keep up with what she had just heard.

"Well, I guess that's alright, then." She muttered, not quite willing to let go her anger just yet. The blond had scared the life out of her!

Naruto grinned, and Asami felt the last bit of any resentment wash away. Damn him for being so hard to stay mad at! "Well, you're heading over there, right?" he punctuated his question by gesturing to the general direction she had been heading.

Asami raised an eyebrow, both at the unexpected question and at the challenging glint in Naruto's eye. "What do you have in mind?" She tried to sound casual, but she could feel her pulse quicken in excitement.

The Shadow Clone grinned, knowing that Asami had agreed to the challenge already. "Race ya there!" And then it was gone, blinking out of sight as it pumped chakra to its legs, gaining a good lead in an instant.

Asami grinned as she immediately pushed the car to its full speed, pointedly ignoring the whimpers from Bolin.

000

If Korra had to compare this experience to anything, she would say it felt like flying.

There wasn't really any other word she could think of to describe it.

Korra was not usually one to curse, but she had her moments. Usually these moments happened whenever she was particularly angry, or in some cases surprised. But this time, it was most definitely the former.

_I'm gonna KILL the sonofabitch!_

The asshole had thrown her! _Thrown_ her!

She still couldn't believe it.

Granted, he had done it so that she could still make her way over to Tarrlok, but still.

Korra blinked as she realized the ground was coming up. It looked like she'd have to save her anger for later.

While she was still in the air, Korra reached both her arms out, bracing herself for the landing. When she finally did land, Korra allowed her arms to absorb the impact for a brief second, before giving a strong push and landing on her feet with a quick flip.

Once she had stopped skidding from the momentum she had gathered from her 'flight' – just how had did Naruto throw her, anyway? – Korra took a quick breath and examined her surroundings. Wherever she had landed, Korra could see that she was actually pretty close to Tarrlok's office; it was maybe ten or so blocks from where she was now.

"Nice landing," came a familiar voice behind her, and Korra turned to see the blond hair of Naruto Uzumaki, smirking at her with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"I—"

"—ASSHOLE!" Whatever he had been about to say was interrupted by Korra's enraged shout, followed by Naruto's desperate attempts to evade her grasp has her hands reached for him, probably for his throat. Admittedly, Korra wasn't entirely sure herself what she was going to do once she got her hands on him, but she'd work that out later.

"Hey, hey, hey! I'm just a Shadow Clone!" Naruto – the Clone? – exclaimed, its hands raised defensively.

Korra paused, glaring at the blond in front of her, still not putting it past Naruto to try and weasel his way out of this. Okay, that wasn't Naruto's nature, but she was pissed.

"Why did you—Naruto—throw me?" Maybe it would help if Naruto had at least had a good reason for doing that.

The Clone grinned. "It worked, didn't it?"

Never mind.

Korra's glare intensified, and though she couldn't be sure, the Clone was somewhat surprised to hear a growl coming from her throat. "Why did Naruto make you?"

The Clone blinked, before answering, "Well, he wanted to be sure you landed safely, so he created me to help with that."

"So you're not meant for fighting, then?" Naruto had gone over the various uses of a Shadow Clone to her in one of their lessons, and while Korra was pretty confident that this was one of the weaker versions, she wanted to be sure.

"Nope!" That same grin again. "I can only take one solid hit before—"

The Clone was cut off by Korra suddenly appearing in front of it.

"Naruto," she started, hoping that her 'message' would get through, "this isn't over."

The Clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as Korra's fist smashed through it.

Once the smoke had dispersed, Korra sighed, feeling immensely better now that she'd been able to hit something.

000

Naruto grimaced as he avoided another burst of flames; he was getting sloppy.

While he had landed the first blow – a vital in just a bout any fight, especially in one like this – these Equalists weren't rookies, and they didn't allow the surprise they had to be feeling to be used against them.

Once the fire had been avoided, Naruto moved to try and retaliate, but was force to evade again as the earthbender summond fairly large pillars from the ground to throw him off balance, allowing the chi-blockers a chance to attack.

Naruto retreated in a series of backflips, inwardly cursing all the while. _Not fair! _

True, a simple _Shinkujin_ would have been enough to give him a nedge in this fight, if not win it completely, but that wasn't really an option at this point. While he _had_ been able to kill one of his opponents, but he had apparently put too much force behind his attack, because the kunai had just kind of… lodged itself in there.

It would have almost been funny if the situation hadn't been so serious.

True, he did have more than one jutsu that would be able to finish this fight pretty quickly, but they all needed time to preform, time that the Equalists weren't going to give him without a fight.

His inner-monologue was cut short by the sudden jolt that accompanied a Shadow Clone being destroyed, quickly followed by its memories rushing though his mind. Naruto barely managed to restrain an exasperated groan as he weaved around a series of lighting-quick pucnhes. _Really, Korra? Really?_ Korra was a friend and everything, and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like being around her, but the girl could be so damn _impulsive_! Well, he had no room to talk, but sill.

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when he felt the earthbender prepare another attack. _Wait, felt?_

He filed the thought away for later (though it was definitely worth looking into) and focused on the fight.

Focusing his chakra, he charged towards one of his opponents (the earthbender), and launched a quick, powerful jab at his chest, the earthbender just barely having enough time to cross his arms over his body protectively.

No one was more surprised than Naruto when, before his fist even landed, the earthbender was sent flying back, slamming into a street light so hard that it bent upon impact.

_Now _the Equalists paused, their minds trying to comprehend what had just happened.

Though he was still surprised himself, Naruto's training kicked in, compelling him to act and take advantage of the openeing that he had just been given.

Naruto leaped again, this time landing near what seemed to be some type of hotel, sending chakra to the soles of his feet to stick to the railing.

Wanting to make the most of the time he had been given, however short it may be, Naruto started going through the handseals for one of his more powerful jutsu. However, mid-way through the set, Naruto felt something… off.

But whatever it was, it didn't seem to affect his jutsu, so he decided to ignore it.

As the handseals finished, Naruto gave a quick grin; _now _he could do some damage. The seals complete, Naruto took a deep breath.

"_Futon: Renkudan (Wind Bullet) Jutsu!__"_

Naruto had chosen this jutsu to at the very least distract the Equailst while he prepared a more powerful technique. The reults, however, were far more effective than what he had been planning.

A normal _Renkudan_ would have been enough to kill one enemy, maybe two or three if they were grouped together close enough. But this time, the blast of highly pressurized wind impacted with a specatuclar explosion, sending countless bits of debris up into the air.

The results for the Equalists were devastating. Of the four that were still remaining, one had been caught in the blast when it hit. His body was ripped to shreds by the wind and the debris, and numerous vital organs had been damaged. If he hadn't been killed outright, he would die from blood loss soon enough. Another, the firebender, had been hit by the jutsu head-on, and this was were the sudden surge of power behind the technique showed; his body wasn't so much _punctured _by the attack as much as _splattered_ over the street.

Okay, he definitely hadn't meant to do _that_, but whatever worked.

The last remaining oppenents, a chi-blockers, had somehow managed to avoid taking any damage, and were now running directly toward Naruto's perch.

For a brief moment Naruto was puzzled; why would they attack him head-on after what he had just done to the rest of their squad? Naruto's unasked question was answered when, with a crackling noise, the baton-like weapons that one chi-blocker had been holding seemed to ignite, electricity forming a blazing aura around them. The other one didn't have any weapons like his parnter, but his hands crackled as his gloves were activated.

From his perch, Naruto still couldn't help feeling a tiny bit smug. So, the guys could use electric weapons – there was no way they'd be able get close enough to—

Naruto's eyes widened as the two jumped, impossibly managing to clear _two stories_ in a single leap.

_No way!_

There was no time for any other thought to cross his mind, as the two charged him, instantly putting him on the defensive.

Whatever the hell had just happened, these two were now much tougher than they had been a moment ago. Faster, too; their strikes were fast enough to rival some of the Hyuuga's he'd met! He wasn't sure if the increased speed also meant increased strength, but Naruto didn't want to find out first-hand.

Well, fine. He'd work it all out later, after he'd beaten these two.

He charged, not intending to give them anymore chances to put him on the defensive again.

The may have been faster, but were no match of the enhanced speed his somehow-activated Sage Mode granted him, and Naruto skillfuly weaved and dodged around both of their attacks the same way he would have before, albeit at a speed that even trained veterans would have had difficultly following. Within moments, the chi-blocker with the batons was dead, flung crashing into the nearby building courtesy of another Frog-Kata punch.

As he turned to face the last chi-blocker, Naruto felt the rush of Nature Chakra leave him, though he was curious to note that he wasn't as exhausted as he'd been when it happened back home.

He channled chakra to his legs, disapearing and reapearing in front of the chi-blocker in an instant. A chakra-enhanced jab to the throat later, Naruto was the only living person on the street.

He held his hand to his face, staring at it as if it would somehow give him the answers to his questions, the main one being; how in Kami's name had Sage Mode been activated just because the Shadow Clone he'd sent to Korra was destroyed?

He definitely hadn't been able to do _that _before he'd come here, so did that mean something had happened to him hwne he had travled to this world? Or was it just something to do with this world now?

He should probably look into this when he got the chance.

000

_Tarrlok's office, a short while earlier…_

_For a brief instant, the Equalists were stunned, unable to do anything else but stare at the corpse of their former squad leader on the floor._

_How was this possible? They were among the absolute best non-benders in the entire country, if not the world. How had their leader been bested by one lone politician?_

"_That didn't work out well for him."_

_Tarrlok's voice broke them all out of their daze, and the Equalists quickly turned their attention – although most of them were still in shock – towards the Councilor, who was standing by the fountain at the end of his office casually._

"_I suppose you gentlemen are here for me?" Though his tone was exceedingly polite, there was a dark glint in his eyes that made those who noticed it flinch from the sight._

_To their credit, the Equalists recovered from the shock admirably. "You're reign ends now." This came from the second in command. "Tonight, we restore Republic City back to its rightful rulers."_

_Tarrlok's eyebrow rose in what could only be described as amusement. "Really?" His voice came out in a drawl, with a tinge to it that made the Equalists bristle. "And who are these "rightful rulers?"_

_The response was immediate. "The people." _

_Though it was still only the leader who had spoken, it was clear that the others shared his sentiment._

"_We have been watching you and the other members of your regime for years. We know what you are all capable of, and we've planned accordingly. We have people and sympathizers all across the world, and our numbers grow every day. You people are outmatched and outnumbered. No matter how powerful you may be, there is nothing you can do to stop us."_

_Tarrlok stared over the opponents surrounding him, his face a impassive mask._

_After a short while, he sighed and shook his head in a manner that could almost be called regretful. _

"_You have no idea what we are capable of."_

_As soon as Tarrlok had finished speaking, the electric lights – the Councilor's offices had their own small generators – went out, leaving only the meager light from candle lamps in the street still on, plunging Tarrlok – and the Equalists – into near absolute darkness._

_The Equalists tried to prepare themselves, before they heard a strangled cry that was followed by a thump as another body hit the floor._

"_Tell me, are any of you familiar with the latest theories of bending?" Tarrlok's voice seemed to come from all directions at once, and the Equalists had no way of knowing from where._

"_There is a growing belief among those who study the nature of bending that a benders abilities are not solely limited to the elements, as has been believed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years." The almost conversational tone drifting through the office was an odd contrast to the sound of two more thumps, leaving only four left. _

"_Rather, it may be possible that all benders can manipulate a certain fragment of their element, whether it be the area around them or even their own bodies. This can be used in any number of ways – we may have seen the start of it when Toph Beifong created metalbending. If these theories are true, then the possibilities for a bender are endless." The air whistled as something sharp traveled through it, followed by a solid whump as it hit its intended target._

"_For example, there have been some reports of earhtbenders being able to increase their own endurance, allowing them to absorb a higher amount of damage." The three Equalists remaining formed together in a rough circle, attempting to cover each other's blind spots._

"_Now, I was quite intrigued by this idea, and found myself wondering if waterbenders were capable of anything outside their traditional ablities." There was a scream of pain from behind them. The two Equalists turned to find their third squad mate standing immobile, something sharp glittering through his pierced chest. Ice?_

_There was one more thump, and the last remaining Equalist—the same one that had spoken to Tarrlok in the beginning—now found himself alone._

"_As you can see for yourself, we are."_

_Then the lights flickered back on, and Tarrlok was right in front of him._

_Without any conscious thought, the Equalist charged the short distance between them, hoping that could land at least one solid hit._

_His attempts were futile, though, as water seemed to gather around Tarrlok's hand, before quickly freezing and forming into what looked like a small dagger._

_He blinked, and found the newly formed 'ice dagger' a hairsbreadth away from his jugular, Tarrlok's impassive face looming over him._

"_Now, I believe that we need to talk."_

000

Though he kept his face outwardly calm, Tarrlok couldn't deny the small sliver of satisfaction he felt as the Equalist lay cowering on the floor.

"That's all I know, I swear!"

Reading the honest fear in the man's eyes, Tarrlok decided that he was simply too terrified to be capable of deceit.

"I believe you." Tarrlok watched as hope began to spread across the man's face, before delivering a quick chop to his neck, rendering him unconscious.

That done, and the area now clear of hostiles, Tarrlok could now fully take stock of what had happened.

Amon had launched some kind of attack, though for what purpose, he didn't know. He would have thought that it was another ploy to draw out the Avatar, but quickly ruled the possibility out. If Amon did mean to target her again, he wouldn't have sent a squad to his office, or another three squads around the city. This was something more, and whatever it was, Tarrlok did not like the implications.

And given what he had just learned, how the Equalists were able to anticipate precisely where each of them would be and where, Tarrlok couldn't rule out the possibility of an informant placed somewhere in a higher official position. And _that _truly worried him.

If there _was _a traitor…

His thoughts were broken by the sound of moving feet – a small sound, but given the silence of the room around him and his keen hearing, it would have been impossible for him to miss it.

Tarrlok turned towards the source, ready to fight again, only to relax as he saw the Avatar standing by the entrance, watching with a somewhat exasperated look in her eyes.

"'Plain, simple Tarrlok', huh?" she asked, her lips turning upward in what seemed to be amusement, perhaps mixed with a tad of irony.

Tarrlok couldn't help raising an eyebrow as he stared her down. Now _this _was curious.

Based on what he had gleamed from her character so far, Tarrlok would have thought that she would be fight against something like this with every fiber of her being, possibly even attacking him if she ever witnessed him doing so. But there was no condemnation in her eyes. No fear, no anger, not even any signs of discomfort as she stood near the entrance to his office, overlooking many of the corpses strewn across the floor. She almost gave the impression of, dare he say it, _approval_.

Perhaps he _had _underestimated her resolve.

If so, he would have to be careful to not make that mistake in the future.

"I admit I may have mislead you," he drawled, inwardly relieved at the slightly irritated look that crossed her face- it meant that he at least hadn't _totally_ misread her.

"Uh huh." She didn't say any more, just folded her arms across her chest and continued to stare at him, leaning almost casually against the wall. She was also rather close to one of the corpses, but she didn't seem to notice. Or if she had noticed, she didn't mind.

"So, you get anything useful from him?" She nodded to the Equalist laying at his feet.

Well, this bore looking into. Perhaps she _would _be a useful ally after all.

"Yes," he answered, "but before I divulge anything, I believe we should seek out Chief Beifong as well."

She nodded, gesturing towards the door. "Lead the way."

Tarrlok raised an eyebrow again. This _was _interesting.

000

There was a bright flash from one of the buildings that she had last seen Clone Naruto on, which Asami—correctly—interpreted as a signal that this was the right destination.

As few quick turns which she was pretty sure violate the laws of physics later, and they saw him, facing one of the many enclosed allys thoughout the city.

Bolin immediately barrled out of the backseat, kneeling on the ground in an almost worshipful position. Asami honestly wouldn't have been surprised to see him kissing it at some point.

"Oh, sweet, calm, stable ground! I shal never take thee for granted again!" Scratch that, Asami would have preffered it if he had just kissed it. It would have been better than… whatever this was.

She glanced over to Mako, who was also looking at his brother strangely, though he seemed a bit shaken as well. "My driving wasn't _that _bad, was it?"

Mako glanced at her. "You almost hit the car in the next lane."

"There was at least a full foot between us!"

Mako gvae a deadpan stare, casuing Asami to huff as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I had it under control."

"Guys." Colne Naruto – it was _so _much easier to call him that than just 'Naruto's Clone' – called out to them, still not taking his eyes off whatever he was staring at. "You might want to take a look at this. Brace yourselves." The last part sounded almost like an afterthought.

Curious, Asami slowly made her way over to the Clone, wondering just what it was that had managed to capture his attention so much.

She let out a gasp once she saw the source, and felt bile rising up in her throat.

It was clear that, at some point tonight, there had been a group of Equalists here, but not anymore. Now there was just a pile of bodies in the ally. Whatever had happened here, it hand't been a long, drawn-out battle, but a slaughter.

And standing there, at the center of the ally, was the person that Asami could only assume was responsible for it.

He was, by almost all counts, compeletly average; average height, black hair, black eyes, with a long black trench coat wrapped around his frame.

He gazed at them calmly, seemingly content to allow one of them to make the first move.

Asami distantly heard Mako and Bolin stumble over behind her, but she was too focused on the other man to pay much attention to them.

He took in the new arrivals with the same calmness he had her and Clone Naruto, before his eyes eventually settled onto the blond.

"So you are the one. Or at least as close to him as is possible for a thing such as you."

Clone Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Who are you supposed to be?" He drew a kunai as he spoke, and had drawn into a battle stance by the time he was finished. For her part, Asami was still too stunned to do much else than watch, and it seemed as if Mako and Bolin were in the same boat as her.

"My identity is unimportant. But know that I am not your enemy."

"Yeah, that's comforting," she heard Bolin say behind her, apparently broken out of his stupor. Asami also snapped back to reality, bracing herself. If this man really _had _killed all of these people, then making him mad was probably a bad move.

But far from taking offense, the man seemed to be amused by Bolin's commet. "So you require proof then. Very well."

His amusement died as he locked gazes with Clone Naruto again. "I have not seen one of your kind in a great while, but I am safe in assuming that you are still capable of relaying information to your creator, yes?"

Clone Naruto's eyes grew wide once he worked out what the man meant. If she were honest with herself, Asami felt much the same.

The man nodded. "Then ensure your creator knows this; there is a man the Equalist have stationed by the Power Plant, he is the one responsible for the power outage. His name is Taro, one of… Amon's," he grimaced, as if finding the name distastful, "most trusted, and among the most powerful earthbenders within the last hundred years. It would be in all of our best interests if he was disposed of, a task which you are uniquely suited for."

Clone Naruto glared. "And why should I listen to anything you say?"

He met Clone Naruto's gaze levelly. "I do wonder how you were brought here. Perhaps because of the Outsiders' meddling? Or is it Raven now?"

At this point, Clone Naruto's eyes were so large that it almost appeared that they would pop out of their sockets.

The man approached slowly. "If you prove yourself worthy, perhaps I will contact you again. I would like to see if you are indeed a _true _shinobi."

Clone Naruto disappeared in burst of smoke, a sound that was deafeningly loud in the stunned silence. By the time Asami had gathered her wits, the man had vanished.

000

_What. The. HELL?_

This was the only thought Naruto was able to form at the moment as his Clone's memories rushed through his mind.

Did these people just pop out of the ground or something?

His thoughts were broken when he felt the rush of Nature chakra surge through him, at least confirming the his had been activated earlier by the Shadow Clones.

Naruto focused, trying to scan the people around the City. He wouldn't be able to get everything, but he could at least check to see of that trench-coat guy had been telling the truth.

He had been. Naruto could feel a prescence by the direction of the Power Plant, clear as day.

He gave a start as the last of the Nature chakra faded without warning, deactivating Sage Mode, though he noted that the exhaustion he had felt back home wasn't present this time.

Naruto groaned, deciding to ignore the other guy for the moment and concentrate on something simple. Like taking down that earthbender.

Channleing chakra to his legs once more, Naruto started moving.

**Did I just introduce yet **_**another**_** OC? Yes I did. But don't worry, this one won't affect the Equalist arc all that much (as in, he won't be mentioned again until much later)! Now, because I'm not sure when the next chapter will be ready, I'll leave you all with this little snippet. Consider it an early Christmas (fine, holiday) gift.**

* * *

_The Equalist squad moved quietly, quickly, and efficiently, with the professionalism that one would have expected of people who had been with the organization practically since the beginning._

_The Lieutenant in charge was somewhat flattered, really; everything that had happened, all of the strikes taking place tonight, even Taro slaughtering everyone working at the power plant, all of it was meant to provide a distraction for them to complete their mission._

_Granted, it was more than a little unusual, and most people would have probably laughed them off if they had been told about it – not that any of them would be so stupid – but they had seen what Amon was capable of, and knew that if he had planned this, then it was serious._

_The location they had chosen for their task had been a small, average allyway within Republic City, one of thousands of others like it. If a person didn't know what to look for, it would be very easy to overlook the spot entirely._

_There task done, they started to head back to headquaters, only to stop short when they saw someone standing at the entrance to the ally._

"_You have gone too far."_

_He spoke with a tone of supreme confidence, as if he had every right to be there, and _they _were the ones who were in the wrong._

_Naturally, this aggrevated the Lieuenant._

_Glaring at the intruder, he sneered. "And who are you supposed to be?"_

_The intruder met his gaze calmly, and the Lieutenant fought the urge to flinch when they made eye contact; there was no anger in them, but something about the way those black eyes looked at him that reminded him of an ancient predator, one that had been waiting for its prey to become vulnerable and moved in for the kill. "I am Masaru Yamamoto." The man reached into his coat, and with a quick flourish drew out a superbly crafted blade. " I am the future."_

_None of them had any time to work out what he meant by that. "__Shinkujin__!"_

_Less than ten seconds later, the entire squad was history._


	14. The Storm: Part 2

**The Storm: Part 2**

* * *

**Okay, first a quick apology to all those who recieved false updates before. It was a formatting error that I needed to correct. And was caused by me. Let's never mention it again. Anyway, here is the next chapter of the story, hope you enjoy it!**

**Beta'd once more by Vandenbz**

* * *

As he raced across the rooftops of the city, Naruto allowed a distant part of his mind to process everything that had just happened. He had to admit, if he hadn't experienced it himself (well, not _literally_, but close enough) he would have been more than a little skeptical. Someone else in this world actually knew about the _Shadow Clones_? Not only that, but their side-effects as well? While he supposed that he should be relieved, or maybe even elated, that this might mean that he wasn't completely alone here, something about that trench-coat guy just felt dangerous. Naruto had had that feeling before, and it had saved his life on more than one occasion, so he had learned to listen to it when it popped up.

Then there was whatever was happening to his Sage Mode. Somehow, the two Shadow Clones he had created seemed to gather nature chakra before they were destroyed. While that was by no means anything new, they hadn't done it on their own accord like this before. It was still active from the last Clone, and Naruto was able to perform a scan around a good portion of the city as he made his way forward.

That was odd too. For one thing, he couldn't find a trace of trench-coat, even though he had still felt Asami and the others, so that meant the guy had either left or had found some way to totally conceal his chakra signature, which was supposed to be impossible. And provided Naruto with yet another reason keep his guard up around him. But that wasn't what concerned Naruto the most right now.

Naruto could also track the positions of the others, and found that they were about where he would have expected them to be. But what he could sense around Lin was… worrying. Lin herself was fine – Naruto knew from first-hand experience that she could take care of herself – but there was something else there, something that set all kinds of warning bells off in his head.

Naruto could honestly say that he had never encountered anything like it, which was cause for concern in and of itself, but something about it just felt _wrong_. That was the only word he could think of to describe it. If he had to gauge its size, Naruto would say that it was maybe humanoid, but that was as clear an idea as he could get. Whenever he tired to focus more on it, his head would start to ache.

Naruto forced his thoughts to the side as he reached his destination; Republic City's power plant. What little he'd been able to pick up here had not been encouraging. He could sense one signature that flared like a star near the power plant's center. While there was a small scattering of other signatures there, which he could only guess were the employees, and their numbers had been steadily dwindling as he made his way. Naruto knew exactly what that meant, and he grit his teeth in fury at the thought.

* * *

Following Tarrlok through the city streets, Korra tried to keep herself focused, but was finding it difficult. She just couldn't get what had happened at Tarrlok's office out of her head.

She had just seen eight dead bodies, people killed by a man she may not have trusted, but at least held some respect for. Shouldn't she feel _something_? Shock? Horror? Anything?

Korra knew she should have, but instead, she only wished that Tarrlok had killed the last Equalist as well. It… worried her.

What, exactly, did that mean?

Tarrlok clearly caught on that something was bothering her, but hadn't brought it up. Korra was grateful that he had decided to leave her to herself.

Why was she taking all of this so calmly? Korra had never even come close to killing someone else—she hadn't even seen a dead body before! Well, unless you counted the ones she had seen in her vision of Naruto (which Korra didn't). Okay, so, there were also those gangsters Amon had killed during his Revelation, but it wasn't like she'd had a front-row view to it or anything. Which brought her back to the question that bothered her the most; was there something wrong with her?

Korra wasn't a psychologist or anything, but even she knew that her reactions were not normal. Hadn't she been having _nightmares _about killing Amon just a few days ago?

She scowled, forcing the borderline-panicked thoughts to the back of her mind. This was not the time or the place- she could freak out later!

For now, she just wanted to focus on finding Beifong.

If only she could stomp out the lingering worry in the back of her mind…

* * *

Lin held back the growl in her throat as she gazed at the city skyline.

She would perform her duty, and the prisoners would be secured, but she was still very tempted to get in the fight herself. She managed to resist the urge though; she knew her people could handle it. But it would just be so easy…

She shook her head, returning her attention back to the people with her at the moment.

"Ma'am?" She glanced to the metalbender who had spoken, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Yes?"

His discomfort only seemed to increase under her gaze, but he didn't back down. "If, uh, you wanted to go, we can take care of things… here?" The last bit of his question ended a little high-pitched.

Lin smirked, and she didn't need any sensing abilities to tell the man instantly relaxed. "I appreciate the offer, but my place is here. You should see to your duties as well."

He gave a crisp salute and returned to the rest of the squad.

Lin hadn't lied, she _did _appreciate what her people—there was no way he had been alone—were trying to do, but as she had pointed out, orders were orders. No matter how much they might irritate her.

She turned her attention back to the rest of her people, still escorting the prisoners. Despite the Equalist attack, which she had to presume was meant for this, the metalbenders were doing their jobs admirably, showing a far better amount of restraint than she herself had. That gave her confidence. No matter what the Equalists would try tonight, they would _never _succeed.

She really should have known better.

* * *

Taro was getting bored. He wasn't really sure _why_, but for some reason he'd expected a better fight than this. Sure, even he was somewhat impressed by the reactions of the firebenders near the power plant, choosing to try and fight him rather than run, but none of them were even strong enough to dent him.

_That's what I get for getting my hopes up, _he thought sardonically as he allowed another poorly-thrown firebolt to impact against him, dissipating harmlessly once it met his Conditioning. A quick thrust, and the firebender was pulverized by the bowling ball-sized rock as it hit his chest, crushing his ribs and slamming him to the ground.

It was still a bit of a let-down though.

He wasn't quite sure what happened next. All he knew was that one minute he was standing there, raining hell on anyone who tried to fight him, and the next he was barreling across the area, actually bouncing off the ground a couple feet as he impacted against it, slamming through the wall of a building and actually skidding across the floor at a fairly good pace until he collided with yet another wall.

Taro growled as he raised himself up. _What the hell was that?_

Taking a few deep breaths, Taro quickly checked his reserves, only to almost drop to the floor again in shock. Whatever it was that had hit him had also seriously damaged his Conditioning. Granted, said Conditioning was still there – if barely – but that fact that he had taken any damage at all was worth noting.

But instead of getting angry like he might have otherwise, Taro grinned. He was sure that he'd noticed a blur of blond hair. And if that meant what he thought it did…

Taro grinned, preparing himself for another fight. Maybe this wouldn't be so boring after all.

* * *

With Sage Mode dying down - he'd have to look into that, too – Naruto moved, pumping more chakra to his legs and charging towards the building that the earthbender had crashed into. Naruto could see that there were still people scattered around the area, and there was no way he'd put any of them at risk if he could help it.

Naruto leapt through the opening that the earthbender—Taro—had unintentionally created, landing near the back of the building just as the huge man gathered himself. Naruto tensed, deciding for now to let him make the first move.

Taro grinned viciously. "Well, what do you know? Just when I was getting bored, you show up. Must be my lucky day," he finished with a chuckle.

Naruto's glare didn't' let up.

Taro kept chuckling. "Oh, don't tell me you're pissed about this," he gestured around the ruined building, clearly indicating the further destruction outside. "It was nothing personal."

Naruto still said nothing.

Taro's humor stopped abruptly. "You know, I've still gotta pay you back for that last fight." He started to move forward.

Naruto grinned, deciding to try and get under his skin. "What, you mean when I totally kicked your ass?" He was answered by a growl, along with a sudden, raging fury appearing in Taro's eyes. "You know," he started casually "most guys can't pull off the whole 'walk of menacing death' thing so well."

Taro charged forward, furious, intending to kill the blond before he could use any of his little tricks. "I'm gonna grind you to dust, kid!"

He launched a punch, in a similar manner to the way he had the last time they'd fought. But _this _time, he had a good deal of momentum built up as well, which only added to the already impressive power behind his hard-as-steel fist. There was no way the kid would be able to—

His fist connected solidly with an outstreched palm.

Taro paused, actually having difficulty comprehending what had happened.

Naruto, for his part, couldn't help the satisfied smirk that made its way to his face- he was _back, _baby!

He tightened his grip on the massive fist, enjoying the somewhat stupefied look on his opponent's face. Naruto wasn't normally one to gloat, but he'd make an exception in this case. "You're on." As soon as he finished speaking, Naruto threw the arm to the side, performing a backflip on the spot and slamming a chakra-enhanced kick to Taro's chin, staggering the massive earthbender. Naruto continued the motion, pumping chakra to his arms and pushing himself away from the center of the room and towards some fallen debris from Taro's crashing entrance.

While Taro recovered, Naruto grabbed what he had wanted – a steel pipe that had been ripped apart, one of its ends forming a jagged spear. Naruto gave it an experimental twirl in one hand, trying to determine how well he could maneuver it. Deciding that it would do, Naruto turned his attention back to Taro, who had just recovered. The big man was glaring at him, all traces of his earlier good mod erased. "You're gonna pay for that," he growled slowly as he went into what Naruto could only assume was a fighting stance.

He smirked again, before launching himself back into the center of the room.

He jabbed the broken pipe, aiming at Taro's ribs, but the attack was quickly deflected by the earhtbender's arm, grazing harmlessly off.

Now Taro smirked. "Still not enough," he taunted before lashing out with another punch.

Naruto dodged it – though he may have gotten better with his chakra control, he still didn't want to take any unnecessary risks here – and launched another attack, which was also deflected.

The two fighters continued like this for a while, neither gaining any real lead. While Taro was strong – and damn near invincible – he was slow when compared to his blond opponent, and just couldn't move fast enough to tag him. While Naruto was faster, and had infinitely more endurance this time than when they had first fought, his current strength was lacking. He was by no means weak, but using the jagged pipe against Taro was like trying to pierce pure steel with a butter knife.

That said, Naruto still had _other _tricks that he could use. He just needed to buy himself enough time to get them ready.

Bracing himself, Naruto caught Taro's punch again. But Taro wouldn't be so surprised now, and retaliated with a follow-up that forced Naruto to fall back. Taro was about to give chase when he heard a strange, fizzing-like sound. Curious, his eyes temporarily drifted to the source – the same fist that Naruto had caught – and caught sight of what appeared to be a small piece of paper. A small piece of paper that was… smoking?

He was jolted out of his thoughts when the paper exploded, bursting into flames and creating a small smokescreen. The blast wasn't enough to damage him, but it _did _buy Naruto the time he needed.

Naruto smirked as Taro burst out of the smokescreen. Now he just had to keep the asshole busy…

He weaved between Taro's attacks once he had gotten close again – apparently Taro had decided to forego earthbending completely for some reason – making an effort to smirk in a confident way that he knew infuriated the man. "So, why are you with the Equalists anyway?"

Taro snorted, lips curling upwards in a sneer. "What, you gonna show me the 'error of my ways?'" He started forward again.

Naruto made a show of frowning before the earthbender came too close. "I'm just saying, a group like the Equalists doesn't really seem like your thing."

Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say. "And how would _you _know anything about _me_?" Taro growled as he slowed. "Alright, kid, I'll tell ya. Really, I'm just in it for the fight. An actual challenge is rare for me, and if a few weaklings have to die to give me one, well, too bad for them." He finished with a malicious sneer as he attacked again.

Naruto had stopped short at Taro's words, almost missing the punch to his face. Though it was quickly dodged, Naruto's mind was at another time and place, flashing rapidly through all the opponents he had ever fought.

Simply put, when compared to all the others, this Taro's reasons for fighting were absolutely pathetic. All of the people Naruto had fought – with the possible exception of Orochimaru – had been fighting for some kind of cause, regardless of how misguided it may have been. This guy was only fighting for himself, and taking a great deal of pleasure in it. Hell, even _Madara _had fought for something more than him!

_This is the price you pay for your weakness…_

All of this went through Naruto's mind in an instant, though it seemed to be longer. When he finally snapped back, finding the earthbender charging towards him again, Naruto growled, a familiar rage building up within, and for a brief instant, his royal-blue eyes flashed a deep, crimson red. This asshole was going _down!_

Naruto caught Taro's next punch again, this time countering immediately with his own punch to Taro's stomach, sending him skidding back a few good yards. Naruto blurred into motion, reappearing right in front of the stunned earthbender. "It's over."

Naruto rammed the pipe at Taro again. But _this _time, it was not deflected. Instead, it seemed to hang suspended in the air just a small fraction above Taro's flesh. Naruto strained harder, pushing every ounce of his physical strength into the effort. He was rewarded with what sounded like glass starting to crack. Naruto tapped into his reserves, gathering energy for one final _push_…

The sound of shattering glass filled the room as the last remains of Taro's conditioning were broken through.

Taro himself was thrown across the room as if he had been caught in a tornado, slamming so hard into the wall that cracks formed around him on impact. He surged to his feet, ready to fight again. Far from being stunned into immobility or furious beyond all comprehension, Taro was wearing a full, face-splitting grin. "You know, kid," he cracked his knuckles as he spoke, and Naruto wasn't quite sure if it was just for dramatic effect or not, "I've really gotta thank you for this."

Naruto was briefly stymied when the ground around him started to shake, but his senses caught up with him and he jumped, moments before vicious-looking spikes jutted out from beneath his feet.

Taro was still grinning. "Before we fought on that island, I'd forgotten what a _real _challenge was like!" Naruto dodged another boulder was thrown at his direction, demolishing the wall it collided against. He scowled; what the hell was happening here? That weird barrier of his was gone, yet Taro seemed to get even stronger!

Whatever. It just meant that Naruto would have to work a little bit harder to kill him.

Naruto felt that same rage swelling again, but it was different, focused now. Whatever this earthbender could throw at him, Naruto would throw back tenfold!

Taro, for his part, still wore that grin that Naruto was starting to find infuriating. "Now _that's _what I'm talkin' about!" He chuckled before taking a fighting stance similar to the one he had seen Korra use when they had their first spar, twitching his fingers in a 'come here' gesture. Naruto did nothing, simply waiting for his opponent to make the next move. Taro sighed, shaking his head in mock-disappointment. "Have it your way then."

Before he could do anything more, two Shadow Clones burst from the ground, latching onto Taro's arms and pinning him in place. Taro snorted. "Oh, come on! You really think I'd fall for this little trick again!?" He stomped on the ground, creating what looked like a small explosion, demolishing the Clones as they were caught in the debris.

"I'm not—" he was cut off as Naruto reappeared in front of him again. Taro briefly wondered why the kid's eyes were now red, before Naruto's fist slammed into his chest, sending him flying once more across the building.

While he was still in the air, Naruto blurred forward in a burst of speed, delivering a massive kick to Taro's unprotected abdomen and slamming him into the ground.

But Naruto still wasn't done. His eyes returning to normal, he began to gather chakra to his hand, preparing for one last attack. Taro, meanwhile, had risen again, somewhat shakily taking a battle stance again. Whatever else this freak was going to throw at him, Taro would be damned if he went down without a fight.

He charged forward at the blond, summoning every last bit of energy and strength he still had.

Naruto remained where he was, allowing the earthbender to get into range while he finished preparing the jutsu that he hoped would finish the fight. The chakra coalesced around Naruto's open palm, gathering into a solid blue-white orb larger than his head.

He saw Taro's eyes widen as he realized his mistake, but by this point it was far too late.

Naruto surged forward as well, rearing his arm back and flinging it forward just before the two collided.

"_**OODAMA RASENGAN!"**_

This time, Naruto's attack was not underpowered. This time, Naruto's jutsu was backed by his improved control, and was at the height of its awe-inspiring power. Taro never stood a chance.

Taro could do nothing as the attack engulfed him, taking the Shadow Clones holding him with it. He still had no idea what had happened, nor what this attack was. All he was aware of was feeling the most intense pain he had ever felt in his life.

Then, he felt nothing at all.

* * *

Panting, Naruto wobbled as the adrenaline from the fight left him, falling to his knees and bracing himself on the ground. _Well, that went well._

And it had. Not only had he utterly demolished the same asshole who had seemed so strong when they had first fought, but he had also confirmed that all the effort he put into re-learning his abilities had paid off.

Naruto couldn't help but grin a bit; it was good to know that he wasn't weak anymore.

He didn't even bother checking on his opponent—once those bizarre defenses he had had been broken through, he was just like any other human, and there was no way he'd survived _that_. Besides, considering how much chakra he had poured into the attack, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a body left to check.

Once he'd recovered, Naruto stood again, taking a real look at his surroundings for the first time. He winced; well, this place had definitely seen better days. He wasn't sure what its condition had been before the fight, but now, it would take a massive amount of effort to fully repair.

Naruto could only hope that the people in charge of this place wouldn't place _all _of the blame on him.

But for now, something told him that he should head over to Lin's location (or at least where she had last been) soon. She was strong, but she might not be able to fight that _thing_ heading towards her by herself.

Naruto groaned- at this rate, he'd run across the entire city before the night was over!

* * *

Asami had no idea what had happened. All she knew was that one minute, she and the others were facing down the man in the trench coat, and the next Clone Naruto was gone, the man along with him, leaving her and the others with the dead Equalists.

Her stomach was still queasy by the thought. _Okay, don't freak out,_ she tried to calm herself,_ just… focus on Mako or something!_

Yeah, that would work. But where was he?

"Hey, guys! You might want to see this!" Well, that answered that.

Asami and Bolin hurried over to where Mako's voice had come from, at the end of the alley. They also had to pass through a great deal of the strewn bodies along the way, and Asami really had to fight down the bile in her throat.

She began to relax a bit when they finally reached Mako, before she noticed he was staring at something intently. Following his gaze, Asami had to pause herself, not sure about what she was seeing.

There was some kind of symbol carved onto the ground, and she could only assume that it was put there by the Equalists before they had been killed. Whatever the symbol was, she couldn't recognize it, though it looked very similar to the kanji used in the language she shared with Naruto.

But there was something else, and it made Asami wonder if her eyes were playing tricks on her. They weren't.

The symbol was _glowing_.

* * *

The metalbender strode towards her, coming to a stop and giving her a crisp salute. "We're almost done, ma'am!"

Lin nodded, having expected nothing less. "Carry on. Report to me once the… transaction is complete." She couldn't really think of a better word to describe what they were doing here. The metalbender saluted again before he departed.

Lin sighed, again feeling the urge to leave her men the task and join the fight herself. Sometimes she wondered why she had accepted her position in the first place.

She forced the thought away. Now was not the time. The metalbender was right, they _were_ almost finished with their assigned task, and maybe she could rejoin the rest of her people afterwards. But she was aware that the final phase of a mission could also be the most dangerous- confidence tended to be high, and people could miss things that they might have otherwise noticed. Lin had learned this long ago, and she had sworn that she would never allow it to happen to her.

In one swift motion, Lin unlocked the metal plates in her boots, slamming her foot down and activating the sensing technique that her mother had taught her. Lin had made her scan with just enough time to sense a single presence heading her way, before she prepared herself for the fight that was sure to come with it. First, though, she made sure to create a wall behind her, at the very least blocking the quickest way to her people.

The wall had just formed before Lin was aware of something heading right towards her. Something very fast.

Lin turned, tilting her body slightly as a small knife whizzed right through where her head had been only seconds before. She snorted, positive that the thrower was able to hear her. "After everything that's happened already, I was expecting something bigger."

She was answered by a chuckle that made her jaw clench. "Rest assured, Chief, this is only the beginning." Lin didn't reply, instead opting to try and sense Amon's—it couldn't have been anyone else—presence. She was taken aback when she came up with nothing.

"Your tricks will not help you here." Amon's voice called out again, somehow managing to sound as if it was coming from everywhere at once.

Lin growled. "If you're so damn confident, then show yourself and fight me!"

"Very well."

Lin's instincts screamed at her, and she managed to leap back just before Amon landed on the ground, sword in hand.

Lin countered, reaching into her core and feeling the earth around her respond. The area around Amon's feet began to shake, and he barely moved in time to avoid the massive spikes of rock that shot out at him, skillfully weaving through and around them with a natural grace. But as he was being pressed forwards, he was also drawn closer to Lin. He took advantage of this, lashing out with a sword strike aimed directly at her throat.

Once he got in range, with another thought, she summoned her wrist-blades, blocking his opening strike with one arm while she retaliated with the other. Amon didn't dodge the blade so much as lean back, causing her weapon to miss severing his head by the slimmest of margins.

Amon broke away, and the two clashed again in a flurry of sparks. Though Lin was loath to admit it, she was impressed with her opponent. She was using both her weapons and wasn't holding back, yet Amon was still able to match her while using only one. She'd read the reports of his phenomenal speed, but actually seeing it for herself was something else.

Well, it was a good thing she didn't entirely rely on speed then, wasn't it?

She drew back and retracted the blades—while she was skilled with them, they weren't he best weapons—and prepared to use one of her more… unique abilities.

The ground beneath her feet started to shake, but in a controlled way, deliberate. Amon paused, and Lin felt no small measure of satisfaction at his sudden caution. It wasn't as if it was unwarranted. Amon was about to learn exactly why she had been chosen to command the Police Force.

Lin focused again, taking whatever advantage she could get from Amon's hesitation. The rumbling stopped, small cracks forming in a vague oval shape. And a small segment of the ground that she was standing on broke away from the rest of the land, before slowly rising into the air.

Her mother hadn't been the only Beifong to do some 'experimenting'.

Amon seemed to have recovered from whatever it was that had given him pause before, and now charged towards her once again. Lin wasn't really sure what he intended to do, but there was no way she'd give him the chance. She focused on the metal cables that were stored within the plates on her arms. She thrust an arm forward, the cables blasting out soon afterwards, acting almost like whips. Amon dodged again—not that she'd really expected anything else at this point—and continued his course.

"Try THIS!" Lin bellowed, kicking at the back of her perch, causing the rock to rotate upwards. Lin braced herself and kicked off, sending the rock flying straight towards Amon, now too close and too fast for him to dodge completely. He didn't even try, instead leaping right towards it, somehow managing to land on the rock itself and leaping off of it, angling himself so that he was flying through the air straight towards her. Lin smirked; perfect!

A wall of solid earth sprang from the ground, hitting Amon while he was still flying through the air. The two impacted with a thundering crash, with a force that had to have broken some bones. Lin let the wall drop abruptly, and Amon plummeted to the ground, his sword fallingfrom his grasp. But she still wasn't done, sending the earth up one more time, but instead of hitting him with it, Lin used it to encase the Equalist leader, trapping him in a prison of pure rock.

Lin paused, keeping a wary eye on her new prisoner. Was that really it? She'd expected something more…

"You think you've won." Amon still sounded as confident as ever, despite the earth surrounding him.

Lin frowned. He had to be planning something. But what? "It's over. You are under arrest."

Amon only chuckled. "I beg to differ." And in that moment, he somehow seemed to… change. Lin couldn't explain how, but she just knew there was something different about him. His body seemed to coil within the limited space available to him, almost as if…

He flexed, and the rock encasing him shattered.

Lin could only stare in shock, knowing what had just happened but unable to process it. _Impossible…_

Amon simply kneeled on the ground for a few moments, before rising to his feet. He turned to her, and even though she couldn't see past his mask, Lin would have sworn that she could see an unnatural glow through the eyeholes.

"Now," he drew out mockingly, picking up his blade once more, "shall we try that again?"

* * *

Korra nearly bumped into Tarrlok as he lurched to a sudden stop in front of her.

Scowling at the near collision, Korra muttered, "What's the hold-up?" She hadn't been in the best mood before, and the fact that she was standing so close to Tarrlok that his back obstructed most of her view didn't help.

"Take a look for yourself." The slight growling quality to his tone alerted Korra that maybe this was a little more important than she had thought.

Stepping aside, Korra quickly saw what the problem was. "I'm guessing this giant wall isn't supposed to be here," she stated dryly.

"Certainly not." Tarrlok's response was just as dry.

Korra nearly smirked before she forced it down. "What do you want to bet that Amon's behind the wall?"

Tarrlok glanced at her. "There's _another _possibility?" Korra did smirk at that. Well, back to business.

"You want me to get rid of this?" she gestured to the wall. Tarrlok didn't even bother replying and settled raising an eyebrow.

Rolling her eyes, Korra turned back to the wall. She was tempted to make a big show of taking the thing down, but instead settled for tapping it. As soon as her knuckles made contact, the wall collapsed.

She and Tarrlok were ready to move again, but they wholly unprepared for the sight of Amon staring down a stunned Lin. Naturally, the sound of the wall collapsing drew both fighters' attention to the newcomers.

For a short instant, Korra locked eyes with Amon, even though she knew it was impossible because of his mask. She couldn't explain why, but simply staring into the holes in mask sent a chill through her spine. It just felt _wrong, _somehow.

And then, all she knew was pain.

Korra had thought that what she experienced on the balcony when Amon first started speaking was painful. Now, it felt like her head was splitting open from the inside. There was too much pain for her to scream, and she could only let out a small gasp. The next thing she knew, she was kneeling on the ground, feeling as if her hands were barely able to support her weight. She was distantly aware of involuntary tears rolling down her cheeks.

All of this was overridden by the scenes flashing through her mind's eye in a near-endless montage. Just like before, it was difficult for her to grasp most of what she was seeing, but at the same time a small handful of the images seemed more vivid than they had before. It almost felt like she was experiencing them for herself.

—_His master—his mentor, his friend, the closest thing he would ever have to a true father—shook his head, a heavy frown forming on his face. "Your insanity will doom us all!" He would have expected his master's harsh words to feel like a physical blow, but instead, they only served to strengthen his resolve. Still, he could not help the regretful sigh that escaped his lips as he drew his blade—his master's blade. "So be it."—_

—"_I look forward to working with you, Mr. Sato." The businessman nodded solemnly, fully aware of the hard road that lay ahead—_

—_But now, he had true power. Now, his goal, his _dream_ would be achieved, no matter how difficult it might become. He was going to erase bending from the world._

_And with the power of the Dírén, _nothing_ would stand in his way.-_

For her part, Korra had lost all awareness of anything besides what was happening in her own mind and the almost unbearable pain that now seemed to spread throughout her entire being.

_Naruto…_

A single tear landed on the ground, and the rest of the world seemed to fade away.


	15. The Storm: Part 3

**The Storm: Part 3**

**I apologize for the delay, but some bits of this chapter were difficult for me to write. You'll be happy to know that this is the end of the Storm arc of this story, and this chapter will reveal a lot of the main reasons for this fic's Korra universe being so different.**

**Previously: Lin attempted to fight Amon on her own, but was forced back by a new ability he revealed. Korra and Tarrlok entered the fight, only for Korra to experience a sudden rush of visions, having just enough time to mentally call out to Naruto.**

**Edit: Just received the Beta'd version from Vandenbz. Holy crap, that was embarrassing.**

* * *

_Naruto_…

Naruto almost missed a step as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. He could have sworn that he had heard someone call out his name…

He brushed it off and almost continued, but stopped again as he felt new emotions press against him. Naruto could honestly say he had never experienced anything like this before. It was hard to tell what it was that he was feeling at first, but after the abrupt shock wore off, Naruto could make more sense of it, and he could recognize two sensations that seemed to be stronger than any other; pain and fear. At first, Naruto had no idea what was going on, or even _how _he knew that he could feel these things, just that he did. And then he remembered the voice that had called out his name. It had somehow _felt_ familiar, since he didn't actually _hear_ it, and now some primal instinct within him knew who it was: Korra.

Naruto couldn't explain _how _he knew it was her, he just did. It felt as if his mind was no longer his own (though not in the bad way), and he could actually _feel_ Korra's thoughts and emotions alongside his own. And right now, Korra was undoubtedly in pain.

Naruto saw red at the thought, his hands curling into fists so hard that they drew blood. Although he didn't notice, his eyes flashed red again, and his pupils turned into silts. For the most part he embraced the anger—Naruto had learned long ago just how powerful a tool anger could be—but a part of his mind was wondering why. It was clearly the thought of Korra in pain that caused this anger, but why did he care? He hadn't even known Korra for more than two weeks, so how had she come to mean so much to him? True, she was something of a friend, but even that was stretching things a little bit. He liked Korra well enough, but he still didn't really know that much about her personally. Though that was mostly because of his own hang-ups, which he was certain Korra had noticed despite his best efforts.

So again; why did he care so much?

Because, despite her faults—a truly astounding lack of patience that may have rivaled his own, her impulsiveness, and her short temper—Korra was still a good person, and Naruto knew that she didn't deserve whatever it was that was causing her so much pain now. She was a friend, and there was no way he'd let a friend—_any _friend, though for some reason her especially—go through something like this if he could help it!

Naruto pushed the foreign emotions aside—as much as he felt for Korra, focusing on them wouldn't help anyone right now—and attempted to calm himself, at least to the point where he could think clearly again. While emotions could be invaluable in combat, they could also be just as dangerous if you allowed them to control you.

Before he set off again, Naruto felt another wave of separate emotions, though this time much softer, less chaotic. The pain was still there, but it was distant now, and the fear had almost completely faded. It had been replaced by what almost felt like gratitude. The connection ceased, and he was on his own again.

Whatever that was, Naruto would worry about it later. For now, he would focus his energy on a new goal; finding whoever was doing this to Korra and making them _pay_.

He jumped once more, leaving a decently-sized crater in the rooftop behind him.

* * *

All Korra knew was pain.

Well, that might have been exaggerating things a bit, but not by much. She was aware that she was kneeling on the ground, paralyzed by pain, a stunned Tarrlok standing a few feet ahead of her. She was also aware of an endless void surrounding her, pulling her mind to… somewhere. It was similar to what happened when she meditated, but this time it almost felt like something was preventing her spirit from leaving the mortal world. The result felt like she was being torn apart from the inside, and the pain was so intense that she couldn't even control her own body anymore. The near-constant flashes—_bending—Power—Dírén—_were only adding to the chaos.

Then she felt it, something that broke through her turmoil; rage. It was sudden and intense, but most of all it was _something_. She latched onto it with every ounce of her will, trying to use the rage to drive away the pain. And almost as quickly as it appeared, the rage vanished, only to be replaced with an iron will. Korra didn't have the slightest clue how, but she felt that resolve wash over her, driving back the pain in a way the rage couldn't.

And then, for a brief instant, she was calm again. Reacting quickly, she grasped the whiteness, allowing it to take her wherever it wanted her to go. Korra knew it was risky, since she didn't know what it was, but anything was better than this.

As she felt her conscious mind leave her body (one of the strangest things she had ever experienced), she thought one last time of Naruto. She had no idea what had happened, why she was able to feel emotions that weren't hers, but there was no doubt in her mind that Naruto was somehow behind it.

_Thank you_.

Although Korra would have liked to tell Naruto how grateful she was, she couldn't, so instead tried to express her gratitude through the new bond.

She could feel his resolve strengthen, almost as if in response. She basked in the feeling for a brief moment before surrendering to the Spirit World entirely…

And then she was there. She was in a different place than she had been when she talked to Roku—instead of the wide plain, now she was standing on a massive temple that seemed to be floating in the sky. She could actually see clouds floating below her. _An Air Temple_. Only it wasn't like the one where Tenzin and the others lived—_this _Air Temple was the real deal.

"You've arrived." Korra felt an unexpected rush of irritation as she turned around to the voice behind her. "Look, Roku, I get that this is probably important, but you have the absolute _worst _timing…" she trailed off once she actually _saw _the speaker. "You're not Roku."

The new Spirit laughed. "I would hope not. I may be dead, but I'm still not _that _old." Korra couldn't help grinning sheepishly in response, even as another part of her mind took note of the Spirit's features.

She wouldn't say he was _old_, but he wasn't exactly _young_ either—she'd say around his forties or fifties. He was wearing robes very similar to the ones that Tenzin and his family wore, but what caught her attention most was the blue arrow that seemed to be painted on his forehead. He seemed _very _familiar somehow… And then it hit her, and she wondered why it had taken her so long to recognize him. "Aang?"

He smiled. "You catch on quick." He looked like he was about to speak again, but was cut short by Korra suddenly appearing in front of him, shaking his hand enthusiastically and speaking in a rush. "I know this might be a bad time but I'm a _huge _fan and it's a real honor to meet you—" she stopped (thank _Spirits_) when Aang brought his hand up in a silencing gesture. She stepped back, smiling sheepishly. _What the _hell _was that, you idiot!?_ Sure, she had always respected Aang—who couldn't?—maybe even admired him, but she had never been some squealing _fangirl!_ She actually shuddered at the thought.

"While I… _appreciate_ your enthusiasm," Aang started, tactfully ignoring Korra's wince, "I truly do need to speak with you."

Korra sighed, inwardly relived that he wasn't dwelling on her 'greeting', and met his gaze. She had always been told that Aang's eyes held a warmth in them that few others did, but right now, although she could still see traces of that warmth, it was muted by something much more serious. "What about?"

He sighed, and she thought she detected a hint of regret, before focusing all of his attention on her. "Our greatest enemy."

Before she could say anything, Aang held up a hand in a silencing gesture, cutting her short. "Tell me, Korra," Aang started, "Do you wish to stop Amon?"

Korra couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "…Yes?" Where was he going with this? A part of her wondered if Aang's spirit had somehow gone senile, even though she was fairly sure that wasn't possible, but that part of her was silenced by the steely look in his eyes.

"And what are you prepared to do to accomplish this?" Korra was very tempted to say something snarky, but managed to resist the urge. Whatever was going on, it was clear that Aang was taking it very seriously, and being flippant just seemed out of pace here. "Anything."

Aang gave a quick, warm smile again, before placing a hand on his forehead, his eyes starting to glow…

_Tarrlok was not a man who rattled easily. Although many tended to write off his combat abilities due to his position, he was a very effective fighter. In fact, many of those who did underestimate him because of his position found that it was the last mistake they would ever make. He had more combat experience than many others in this day and age would see in a lifetime, and it had helped shape him into the man he was today._

_However, while he wasn't rattled, Tarrlok would admit that at the moment he was concerned. His current position was not a strong one. Although he didn't know what was happening to her, the Avatar was clearly out of the fight for the moment. Chief Beifong was still too stunned to move, wide eyes leveled on Amon as her mind tried to grasp what had just happened. In short, he was on his own._

_Well, that at least was normal enough. That sounded desperate even in his own mind._

_Tarrlok forced the thoughts out of his mind, focusing once more on the task at hand; protect the Avatar. Or at least hold Amon off until she was able to defend herself._

_Amon seemed to realize this as well as he turned to face him, sword at the ready. "Stay out of my way." The command was spoken in an almost casual tone, one that was belied by Amon's aggressive stance._

_Tarrlok snorted. "Absolutely not." He wasn't sure how, but he got the distinct impression that Amon's eyes had narrowed behind his mask, and he liked to think that it was out of annoyance._

"_My goal is to free my people that you've imprisoned." Amon raised his blade as he spoke. "Surely even _you _can understand that."_

_Tarrlok gave no response, but he was fairly certain that his eyes expressed his contempt well enough. He did not know what it was that Amon truly planned, but his 'revolution' had never been about the people. Everything Amon did was to further his own agenda. Whatever that was, there was no doubt in Tarrlok's mind that it involved the Avatar in some way._

_In this case, for once, his duty was clear. Tarrlok struck._

Korra felt an odd jolting sensation as she was suddenly snapped back to reality. Now she was back at the Air Temple with Aang, who was giving her a sympathetic gaze as she tried to gather herself. "Sorry." She imagined his grin was a little sheepish. "I've been told that Assimilation can be… odd."

Korra shook her head, the action clearing the last of the haze from her mind. "Assimilation?"

Aang nodded, likely having thought that she would need an explanation. "What you just experienced. I'm sure Roku spoke to you of it."

"_What I am about to pass on to you has fundamentally _broken _those of weaker minds…" _She remembered Roku's words perfectly, his somewhat cryptic warning now falling into place. "This is what Roku meant." She mumbled to herself. Korra looked to Aang again. "What is it?"

Aang paused for a moment, and Korra got the impression that he really didn't want to answer. Finally, he spoke again. "There is something else that I must show you before I can answer your question." As he spoke, the world around them changed. Well, more like _half _of the world changed.

It must have been a peculiar sight if anyone were to see it from up above; Korra would be willing to bet that it looked like the world had split in half. While the part of the world to her left stayed the same—a seemingly endless ocean of clouds, the world to her left began to shift. At first, the clouds darkened, then faded into blackness. Soon after, that blackness changed too, morphing into what she recognized as various building of Republic City. Actually, it was the position she had been at before entering the Spirit World.

It wasn't the same, though. All the colors of the human world looked muted somehow, less vivid. She wondered about that, but those thoughts were quickly replaced by her next two observations; one, that she could see the others that had been with her before, and two, they were glowing. It wasn't a subtle type of glow, either; she'd have had to be blind to miss them.

The glow around Tarrlok was a deep, oceanic blue. Korra could see that he had two dagger-like shards of ice in each of his hands, and the same glow surrounded both of them. Glancing over at where she remember seeing Lin, Korra could see a similar glow surrounding her, though it was green instead of blue. She thought she could also see a smaller, silver-like layer beneath the green.

"Do you know what this is, Korra?" Aang asked behind her.

Korra had to bite back another comment, trying to think of an answer to his question, grudgingly admitting that she never would have done this before meeting Naruto. Okay, so she could see Tarrlok and Lin, and there was a glow surrounding their bodies. Lin's glow had a silvery layer beneath it. Why? She knew the colors meant something, but what…? _Oh, duh!_ "Their auras." Korra wasn't aware that she'd spoken aloud until she heard Aang's "Very good" behind her.

Korra turned back, questions racing through her mind, but she was unsure of how to ask them. Why was Aang showing her this? How could knowing a person's aura help her defeat Amon? Why did he have to contact her _now_ and not some other time when she wasn't in the middle of a life-or-death fight?

Aang held up his hand, meeting her gaze calmly. "I know this may be confusing to you, but do one more thing for me before you ask your questions; take another look at the city, at Amon, and tell me what you see."

Pushing away her questions, Korra did as Aang instructed. Now that she thought about it, it _did _seem kind of odd that she could only see Lin and Tarrlok. Where was Amon? Korra was answered almost as soon as the thought occurred to her, and she instantly wished she hadn't been.

Amon's aura was… Korra couldn't think of any single word to fully describe it. It was _wrong, twisted, alien,_ and so much more all rolled up into one. It felt strange just to look at. There wasn't any real pain, but definitely some discomfort on her part. Color-wise, Amon's aura at first glance seemed white, and something told her that it would look pure white to anyone else who looked at it, but Korra could see it for what it really was. Underneath all that white was a solid layer of black. And whatever it was, Korra knew instinctively that it was not Amon's own power. It was something else, something dark, something that gave her chills just by looking at it. She saw Tarrlok forming more of his ice-daggers, the new weapons also glowing blue as they flew towards Amon. Faster than she could blink, Amon raised a hand, his black aura pulsing. The black aura soon formed over Tarrlok's weapons, overpowering their own aura, before they reverted back to water which fell harmlessly to the ground. To his credit, Tarrlok didn't even flinch, instead launching another attack.

"What you see is just a small fraction of the power of your true enemy." Aang spoke again. "The enemy that will destroy use all if we do not act, the enemy that the first Avatar was created to fight: the Dírén."

"Dírén?" Korra repeated, the strange word still somehow feeling familiar, even though she had never heard it before. She was distantly aware of the Tarrlok and Lin fighting Amon in the background, but couldn't bring herself to concentrate on it. Wait a minute… "'The first Avatar?'" Korra repeated, glancing back at Aang. The Spirit matched her gaze with a dry look of his own. "Another topic for another day." Korra grinned sheepishly again.

The fight faded; it was still there, and she could still make out some of the details, but it wasn't front and center anymore, and her attention was brought back to Aang. "Tell me," he began, "Do you have any idea what Assimilation is?"

Korra paused, thinking over her answer. Something else that she hadn't really done before meeting Naruto.

Whatever this 'Assimilation' was, it seemed to be something that Aang and Roku were using to try and help her fight Amon. But how? She recalled her conversation with Roku, his warning, and then flashed forward to what had happened to her before the attack, when she had first heard Amon's voice. Maybe it had something to do with those flashes she got?

And then it hit her, and she locked eyes with Aang. "They're memories, aren't they?" Aang nodded, smiling slightly. "You catch on quick. Quicker than me, at any rate." Korra could tell that he was fighting back a chuckle as he spoke.

Almost as quickly as it appeared, the humor faded from his eyes. "Yes, Korra. The things you've seen are pieces of Amon's memories." An unpleasant feeling settled in Korra's chest as Aang's words really sank in. Back on the balcony, it hadn't felt like she had been just _watching_ Amon's memories, and that was doubly true for when it happened the second time. She had _felt_ everything that happened in those memories as well. A freezing wind as Amon—or had it been her?—had faced down his—her?—master, satisfaction at the knowledge that he had managed to recruit Hiroshi Sato to his cause. The more she thought about the memories, the harder it was to separate herself from them. Even now, having just witnessed the same thing with Tarrlok, Korra found it difficult to detach herself from the memory. She _knew _that it hadn't been her, that it was something that Aang and Roku had done to help her, but they had still felt so _real_…

"Korra." She felt a hand settle on her shoulder, the contact jolting her back to reality—or the Spirit World—and she saw Aang's compassionate gray eyes boring into her own. "Do you see the danger of Assimilation?"

Again, Korra didn't respond, but she most definitely did. Now that she knew where she was, Korra found it easier to concentrate on the foreign memories. If what she had just felt was from only a few seconds, and if there was even more to those small pieces, what would happen if she had experienced them _all_?

Probably guessing what she was thinking, Aang smiled, the humor returning to his eyes again. "You _do _catch on quick."

Korra forced down the thoughts that were running through her mind. After everything that had just happened—the odd link she seemed to have developed with Naruto, Aang's arrival, and the Assimilation process, there was really only one question on her mind right now; "Why?" So many questions, all summed up in that one word. Why had Aang and Roku done this to her? If it was as dangerous as she thought it was, why would the two of them approve of it? And perhaps most importantly, what could possibly be enough to cause Aang and Roku to do this in the first place? Korra found that third one worrying her the most.

Aang, however, answered most of the questions for her. "I know this may seem cruel, and to be honest, I was against it. But desperate times…" he trailed off with a light shrug that seemed very out of place considering the discussion they were having.

Korra got the feeling that it was a great deal more complicated than that, but let it slide for the moment. She would have been irritated, if not angry, that Aang was holding information back from her, but the Sprit somehow seemed to age years before her eyes, as if whatever he was talking about physically pained him.

She paused, holding back the questions on the tip of her tongue, and tried to go over everything that she had just seen. _Okay, think. These things _have _to be connected to each other somehow, right? Aang wouldn't show them to me otherwise. So, Amon's memories, that bizarre aura of his, and this Dírén._

Maybe… Amon's twisted aura had something to do with the Dírén? It made sense, she supposed. If Amon's aura had been changed in some way—even she knew there was no way what she had seen was natural—then something had to be behind it. Aang had called this 'Dírén' "Their _true_ enemy," and if things were as bad as he seemed to be implying, then it made a certain kind of sense to her that the Avatars of the past would try to give her some kind of tool to fight against it.

"The memories are a weapon." At first Korra wasn't even aware that she'd spoken aloud, but once she started, everything came out in a rush. "Amon is using this power, a power given to him by something else, and the memories are a way to show me how he found it, what it does, o-or where it comes from."

"Remarkable." She heard Aang breath. She turned to him—again—to see staring down at her, the former pain in his gaze replaced by an almost awed look. "I know I said you caught on quick," he continued, "but even I wasn't expecting _this_." Korra flushed at the unexpected praise.

"So," she started, "Why did you contact me about all of this _now_?" Couldn't he have waited until she _wasn't_ in the middle of a life-or-death battle?

Aang nodded in response to her question. "It was because the process had already begun. I'm sure you remember experiencing it before you spoke to me." Korra repressed a shudder at the memory. "There is a risk of you losing yourself to the memories, but if you allow me to help you here, I can at the very least reduce it. The problem with Assimilation is that it must be activated by the consent of both the one giving the memories, and the one who received them. This is why Roku was the one who spoke to you first; I did not have the heart to give you such a burden. But if you agree now, I can help you."

Korra was about to agree—if it would help her defeat Amon, she didn't have much choice—before she noticed something else out of the corner of her eye; something happening in the fight with Amon.

Distracted, she briefly glanced over to the source, at the part of the world that still showed the city, only to feel her terror return at the sight that greeted her; somehow, Chief Beifong and Tarrlok were both down, their bodies lying in the city streets. Lin still seemed conscious, but even here, Korra could tell there was no way she'd be able to get back in the fight. Tarrlok appeared mostly unharmed, if you didn't count the faint trails of smoke rising from his body. What really terrified her, though, was the sight of Amon standing only a few yards from her own unmoving body, sword raised high as he prepared to strike.

He paused, and Korra somehow _knew _that he was focusing on Lin and Tarrlok, though something told her he was focusing more on the latter. "Remember this. This moment is where your order falls forever. And after this night, live with the knowledge that there was nothing you could do to stop it." He spoke slowly and deliberately, taking his time, and Korra could only guess that it was because he was honestly savoring the moment. "And now, a new age begins." He brought the blade down—

—Only to leap away mid-swing as something blurred between the blade and her body, impacting the ground so hard that it kicked up a good-sized dust cloud in the process.

While any other time Korra would have had to strain to make out any detail through the cloud, the Spirit World was not limited by her physical body, and she could everything clearly. Of course, that didn't mean she had any better idea of what was going on as she took in her rescuer.

It was undoubtedly Naruto, though now she could see his aura as well, and it was nothing like the others. While admittedly she had really only seen Lin's and Tarrlok's, Korra could piece together what they meant. The color of a person's—a bender's in this case—aura signified what type of element they were able to use. Since Lin was an earthbender, it made sense to Korra that her aura would be green, one of the colors most associated with the Earth Kingdom, and Korra was willing to bet that the silvery layer beneath it represented her metalbending. Tarrlok's blue aura had to be his waterbending, if the glow around his ice-weapons was anything to go by.

Naruto's was completely different. Rather than a color that represented a certain element, his aura was a pure, brilliant golden color, shining like the sun. It wasn't pure gold, though—Korra could see traces of crimson red and light blue scattered within the aura as well, the colors somehow managing to merge together and at the same time remain separate from each other. Right now, red seemed to be the most dominate color, though it was in a layer beneath the gold like Lin's metalbending.

Korra hadn't really seen the aura of a non-bender yet, and it might have been too quick to judge after seeing only two, but something told her that Naruto's aura was unique, that no matter how long she searched, she would never be able to find another quite like his.

And it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life.

Aang smiled, unable to feel any true offense that Korra's attention was now wholly focused on the boy. It reminded him of himself around her age, truth be told.

* * *

Naruto was angry.

Now normally this wouldn't be anything worth noting—his temper could be just as bad as Korra's at times—but this was different. This time, he wasn't just pissed, or frustrated. Now, he was well and truly furious.

It had started during his fight with Taro, when he had felt the anger that had become so familiar during his fights with Madara. His anger had escalated when he had sensed Korra's pain, even though he still wasn't quite sure how it had happened. The anger had to turned to fury as, while he had finally gotten close enough to Korra that he could see her, his enhanced senses had picked up the masked bastard's little speech, unintentionally reawakening memories that he had tried so hard to fight against.

"—_but in the end, this is, and always will be, _your_ fault."_ For a brief instant, Amon's mask was replaced with another, and Naruto could just _see _a single crimson eye staring him down.

But for now, Naruto tried to push the rage—and the memories—away in favor of checking on Korra, having to force down another wave as he took in Korra's condition. Physically she was fine, but even a blind man could tell that something was wrong. She was motionless, her eyes glazed over, absolutely no expression showing on her face.

In the admittedly short period of time that he'd known her—had it really only been a few weeks?—Korra had always been a bright, vibrant person. To see her like _this_, and knowing that he was pretty much unable to do anything about it, was infuriating to him, and right now he had a pretty good idea of how to vent it.

As the last of the dust cleared, Naruto glared at the masked man now standing before him, truly taking him in for the first time. Honestly, Naruto had no idea what the big deal about the guy was. Take away the glove and the sword, and he looked about as weak as anyone else. Maybe a little bit faster, yeah, but Naruto was willing to be that Taro guy had been tougher. He didn't allow any of his thoughts to show on his face, though. At least not aside from the aforementioned rage. "You did this to her."

Amon's head was tilted in an almost curious manner, giving Naruto the distinct impression that he was being examined. "So you are the one. While I admit I was… caught off guard by your arrival here, you cannot stop me. Nothing can."

Naruto growled, not allowing his confusion to distract him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

He got the impression that Amon was smirking as he answered. "It does not matter. Even if you do manage to somehow force me back tonight, one day, the Avatar _will_ die by my hand."

Something inside Naruto snapped at that, and any notion of strategy was abandoned. As if in response to his anger, a visible haze of chakra burst around him. Only instead of the blue color of normal chakra, this energy was red. The chakra was not the only thing to change though. Naruto's hands curled into fists, the fingers lengthening and sharpening until they more resembled claws. The whisker-like marks on his cheeks lengthened as well, becoming deeper and more defined. Although it wasn't quite visible, Naruto's teeth were also becoming sharper and longer. The most drastic change, though, where his eyes. While Naruto's eyes were normally a warm, cheerful blue—except for when his past in the war was brought up—now the was a malevolent crimson red, the pupils becoming slits.

For his part, Naruto welcomed the rush of sheer power that came along with the red chakra. No, the _yoki_.

He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Kurama and his yoki had been held within Naruto's seal since almost the moment he was born. The yoki had been constantly circulating throughout his body for the past seventeen years of his life, whether he had consciously used it or not. Had he really thought that all of that energy, that was essentially just as much a part of him as his regular chakra, had just gone away? Well, maybe a part of him had. It would have been nice to be (relatively) normal for once in his life…

But that didn't matter now. If whatever this yoki was could help him save Korra, Naruto would use it in a heartbeat. And the best way he could think of to save Korra now was by pounding this masked freak into the ground.

Naruto leapt off the ground, moving faster than he ever could on his own, powering himself towards his enemy faster than the untrained eye could follow. He reared a clawed hand back, intending to rip the bastard to shreds—

Only to come in contact with nothing but empty air. _What the—_

"Did you really believe that it would be so easy?" the voice came from behind him, and Naruto had barely turned before he was forced back by a lightning-fast fist aimed at his head.

Naruto barely had time collect himself before another attack came. He blocked the fist with an arm and raised his other arm to try and land another hit, only to again hit nothing.

"You are strong, but not enough." This time Naruto had to dodge Amon's sword, the blade moving so fast that it was little more than a blur.

What the hell _was _this? Naruto had heard Korra and the others talking about how strong Amon was, but this was something else entirely. There was no way any normal human could move this fast!

"But _I_ am not normal." Amon's voice came again, as if the man had known what he was thinking. "I am _better _than that." Naruto growled. Fine, so the freak was tougher than he'd thought. He was still going down!

Naruto caught a glint of silver out of the corner of his eye, and brought his hand up again, this time using his clawed fingers to deflect the blade, catching Amon's outstretched arm in an iron-like grip. He brought his other hand, curled into a fist, and slammed it into his captive's stomach, drawing back and slamming it in again. He hit the man again and again, putting all the power behind his attacks as he could, intending to end the fight and at the same time cause Amon as much pain as possible.

In his enraged state, Naruto never noticed Amon's _other, _glove-covered hand coming towards him. He never noticed the electric sparks gathering in the gloves center as it landed on his shoulder.

All Naruto was aware of was feeling the most intense pain he had ever felt coursing through his entire being.

It should have been over quickly, rending him out cold in moments. But his now-enhanced healing factor prevented that. Every cell that was damaged by the electricity was repaired almost in an instant, only to be electrified all over again.

Naruto could do nothing more than scream in pain.

* * *

"Send me back!" At first, Korra wasn't even aware that she'd spoken the words out loud. As her brain caught up with the rest of her body, she realized she didn't care.

"What?" Aang sputtered back, seemingly unprepared for her sudden outburst.

Korra took a calming breath, locking gazes with Aang. "I said," she began in a deliberately slow manner, "send. Me. Back."

Aang raised an eyebrow, and Korra was distantly reminded of when she had spoken with Roku. "You wish to return _now_?"

"Yes." Korra managed to grit out, what little remained of her patience wearing thin.

Aang locked eyes with her. "You do realize that if you go through with this, I will not be able to help you with the memories? That you will have to face them _on your own?_"

Korra only narrowed her eyes, not even bothering to respond verbally. Whatever Aang had been planning on offering her, she had to focus on helping Naruto. A distant part of her mind was already trying to form some kind of strategy to counter… whatever Amon's power was.

She was distracted, though, by the sound of Aang bursting out laughing. "Well, I'm glad _that _part is out of the way." Aang's voice now had a jovial tone to it, holding none of the seriousness it had before.

Korra couldn't help blinking somewhat stupidly. First Roku, and now Aang? What was going on?

Aang must have picked up on her confusion, because he spoke up again shortly afterwards, eyes still glittering cheerfully. "I do apologize, but this little test was necessary."

_Test?_

"I already knew some of your character from Roku, but I had to see it for myself."

"_For what?"_ Korra couldn't help her voice raising as she asked the question. She was sick of these damn games!

"You'll see soon enough." Aang's reply came with the same warm smile he had been wearing when she had first seen him.

Well, now she was just even more confused than before. Why did all these Spirits have to be so damn cryptic?

Aang placed a hand on her shoulder again, smiling down at her in a warm, reassuring way. "You wish to save the boy." It was not a question, and Korra was pretty sure that if she had been in her physical body, she'd be blushing right now. "Very well, but first, allow me these parting words."

He didn't give her enough time to respond. "There is darkness ahead. A darkness which if left unchecked will consume the world. It is this darkness that the Avatar was created to fight. Fighting this darkness is what every Avatar was born to do. It is what _you _were born to do. The road that lies ahead of you will be long and hard, and it is your destiny to face it. But always remember that no Avatar is ever truly alone. We are with you."

He paused, smiling gently again. "Stay strong, Avatar Korra."

The world turned white, once more fading away, though this time it wasn't anywhere near as unpleasant. Korra could already feel the real world pulling her back, beckoning her to return to her physical body. She embraced it, feeling no physical sensation but knowing that she was falling down to earth.

_One last thing,_ Aang's voice echoed through her mind. _Don't focus on fighting Amon so much that you push all _other _aspects of your life aside. _It would not take long for her to realize why an image of Naruto floated through her mind as she heard those words.

The space of a single heartbeat was an eternity. Korra knew that the whole thing probably only took a few seconds, if not even less, but in her mind, it may as well have been hours.

Korra guessed that this had something to do with the Spirit world, or maybe it was just her own mind, but it was almost like she could actually feel every miniscule step as she returned to her own body.

She figured that if she was being given extra time, she should use it to do something that she had only started recently; try to form some kind of strategy for the coming fight. She would be the first to admit that Naruto was the main reason she was even attempting something like this.

_Okay, what do I know about Amon's strengths? _He could counter waterbending with ease, if what she had seen from Tarrlok's fight was anything to go by. She'd be willing to bet that he could do the same with earthbending, given how she had seen Lin's unconscious form before Naruto arrived. She knew from personal experience that firebending was no good either; Amon had demonstrated _that _very well during their 'duel'. Besides, Naruto had mentioned that it was best to not use the same tactic against the same opponent too often, or better yet not at all. He was also incredibly fast and also seemed to have a great deal of endurance to boot.

_So what about his weaknesses? _There might have been one. Amon was fast, tough, and cunning, but his strength didn't seem to reach those same near-monstrous levels. In that aspect, he was almost an ordinary man. Maybe she could use that?

She'd have to catch Amon quickly, bring him down with overwhelming force. It would be tough, but maybe she and Naruto could do it together.

Korra braced herself as something within her mind told her that she would soon be returning to her body.

* * *

Korra was sure that her return would have seemed very strange if anyone had been there to see it (she was thankful there wasn't). One moment, her body was simply there, in the same position it had been in before, and the next, she was propping her hands on the ground to brace herself, taking deep, ragged breaths as she tried to gather herself.

_For some reason, I thought it would be gentle._ The thought held more than a small trace of irony; by this point, she really should have known better than to assume anything about the Spirit World.

Suddenly feeling weary, Korra swayed, managing to catch herself. Despite the dizzying sensation, it felt good to be back. Her senses returned slowly, first sight, then touch, then her hearing, though the world seemed muted for some reason.

And then her hearing returned, and she heard Naruto's agonized screams, and any shred of her previous plan went right out the window.

Naruto was in agony, and she could actually _feel _a small fraction of it herself, in some distant corner of her mind. Knowing this, that Naruto was in pain, and that the pain was being caused by the man who was supposed to be _her _enemy, sparked a raging fury within her chest.

"Leave."

Her voice, used for the first time in what seemed like ages, came out softly, barely above a whisper. But the slight tremors in the ground around her did more than enough to speak for her rising anger.

"Him."

Her voice was stronger now, resembling something that fell just short of a shout. Her fist clenched, and a part of her reveled in the minor motion. The flames in nearby street lamps flared brightly, while any nearby water seemed to gather around itself, rising a little into the air in her direction.

"ALONE!"

The last word came out as a deafening bellow, becoming an actual physical force. The wave of air all but slammed into Amon, forcing him to drop Naruto as he was blasted backwards, actually slamming his body through a nearby buildings windows.

On some level, Korra realized what she had just done, what this meant for her, but she didn't care. Right now, all she really cared about was Naruto.

When she caught sight of the blond, she saw that he had already seemed to be recovering, if the fact that the was picking himself off the ground was anything to go by. Korra couldn't help raising an eyebrow as she took in his new features, though. "What the hell happened to you?" Alright, maybe she could have been less blunt, but tact had never been a strong point for her.

Naruto shook his head, and in that same part of her mind that felt his pain, Korra could now feel something akin to panic. **"It's nothing. Just another of my 'skills.'"** Well, if he really was panicking, he hid it well. Though the growling quality of his voice may have helped with that.

_Jinchuuriki, Kurama, yoki…_ The words just came to her, even though Korra knew for a fact that she had never heard then before. As the words floated through her mind, she instantly understood the meaning behind them as well. She closed her eyes and massaged her temple in an attempt to stave off the sudden headache that accompanied the information.

Once it had passed, she opened her eyes and took another look at Naruto, who seemed unwilling to meet her gaze. So, Naruto was, or at least had been if what she'd just learned was anything to go by, some kind of container for one of the most powerful demons in his world. _You think you know someone, _she thought dryly.

For his part, Naruto had no idea how to react.

Not only was Korra_ not _running in terror or trying to kill him as soon as she got a good look at his transformation, but she didn't care _at all_. That was what confused Naruto the most; he could actually _feel _her lack of concern about it.

Given everything that had just happened in such a short amount of time—his yoki activating again, being electrocuted, then being saved by Korra, and now somehow being able to feel her emotions—Naruto was at a bit of a loss.

He was broken out of his thoughts as his senses picked up something coming their way, _fast_.

"**Look out!" **Naruto reacted with lightning speed, managing to push Korra out of the way right before Amon's blade whistled through the air where her neck had been.

Korra reacted instantly, moving her arms in a style he had never seen her use before, and a powerful burst of air seemed to erupt from her hand and impact Amon, forcing him back again. With barely a glance at Naruto, Korra offered him a hand. Naruto took it, idly noting that his clawed hand somehow managed to fit pretty well in hers. He forced the thought out of his mind when Amon, having recovered again, faced them once more.

"So now it truly begins." The words came out in a near hiss, a mix of excitement and anticipation.

Naruto and Korra didn't even spare a glance at one another. They simply _moved_.

Naruto was attacking in an instant, clawed hands lashing out at lightning speed, trying desperately to find some kind of weakness or opening that he could exploit. Amon simply blocked one swipe with his sword, then the other, and the two repeated the earlier pattern, Naruto unable to gain anymore ground than he had the first time. But _now_, as Amon was about to counter again, a powerful blast of air courtesy of Korra slammed into him.

Naruto quickly took advantage of this, blurring behind Amon and lashing out again, claws actually managing to pierce his flesh and inflict a gash on the side of his torso. _Yes!_ Naruto smirked, his demonic features making the action look particularly menacing.

Any satisfaction he may have found was short-lived, though, as a wave of _something _slammed into him from the front, forcing him back and through the wall of a nearby building.

He tried to pick himself off the ground, but now found the task incredibly difficult. Every inch of his body felt like it had turned into lead, accompied by no small amount of pain, though it was nothing he couldn't handle.

What the hell was happening to him?

Korra, for her part, instantly took his place, all but flying to her enemy as she bent the air around her. Was _this _what she had been missing out on all this time? Becuause if it was, then she definitely owed Tenzin an apology once she got the chance.

With only the slightest bit of concentration, she summoned wind to her fist, acting almost on instinct. Amon sped towards her, blade readied once more, but with a subtle shift in the air currents around her, Korra moved just slightly out of the blade's range, slamming her fist into Amon's stomach and releasing the air she had gathered around it. The pressurized burst of air, along with her own above-average strength, resulted in Amon skidding backwards once more.

Giving a little ground herself, Korra switched tactics, summoning two slabs of earth from the ground and hurling them towards him. Amon, though he might have still been shaken from her new airbending, simply held out both his hands so that they were facing the two stone slabs. They might not have glowed like she had seen with Tarrlok's ice-daggers, but Korra could easily imagine the same thing happening here, with the same result; the slabs burst into pieces, falling to the ground harmlessly.

_Crap! _Korra had hoped she'd be able to catch Amon when he was off-guard, but it looked like she'd have to try a little harder.

The ground shook again, twin pillars of solid rock jutting upwards towards Amon. Although he was able to neutralize them as easily as he had her own earthbending, Korra took the opening immediately, launching a large stream of fire towards Amon. This time, he did not stop it with whatever his powers were, instead dodging it once more. He would have retaliated once more, if not for the ice-daggers that launched themselves at his head the moment he had stopped moving.

Korra took a brief moment to observe the new fighters and found herself pleased with what she saw; it looked like Tarrlok and Lin had finally recovered, and were now back in the fight.

Amon paused once more, and Korra could easily imagine his eyes darting back and forth between his now-three opponents.

Korra felt his gaze focus on her, and idly noted that it looked as if the visible glow behind his mask's eye holes had disappeared. She wondered if that meant anything.

"Another day." The words were barely a whisper, yet Korra still managed to hear them perfectly.

Before she could react, Amon moved with lightning speed, hurling a round… _thing _that he must have been keeping hidden somewhere at the building that Naruto had crashed through. There was a loud explosion a few seconds later, causing the building itself to shake, debris falling down on either side.

_No!_ Korra might not have been a highly imaginative person, but even she could see what was happening. Once more, she moved almost on instinct, hurling herself towards the collapsing building. She distantly heard Lin and Tarrlok struggling with Amon, but she all but ignored it in favor of saving Naruto. She could already tell there would be other chances to bring Amon down, but if Naruto died here…

She force the thought away, summoning her earthbending as she neared the building. Korra wasn't quite sure what had happened after that. One moment, she ahd been speeding towards the collapsing building. The next, she was kneeling over Naruto, his features having returned to normal, trying to help him off the ground.

"What happened?" Naruto asked somewhat bleakly as she looped one of his arms across her shoulder. "Did we win?"

Korra couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. "Not this time, Naruto."

Naruto paused, locking his once more blue eyes with hers. "Damn."

Korra chuckled. "That about sums it up."

Korra internally sighed in relief. At least everything seemed to be over for now. It was a small comfort, but she'd take any she could get.

"Ahem." The two paused, looking over to the source of the sound to see Lin staring down at them sternly, arms folded across her chest, with a curious-looking Tarrlok trailing behind her. "It looks like we'll need to have another 'talk'."

The implications of the older woman's statement hit both of them at the same time. "Damn it." They both blinked and turned to each other, neither one of them quite sure who had spoken first.

* * *

**Like it? Hate it? Indifferent? I'd like to know your opinions. I know that the fight might not have been the epic confrontation that some of you were hoping for, but rest assured that it is coming.**


	16. Interlude: The Truth

**Well, here's the next chapter, and a good deal faster than the last one, too!**

**Naruot may seem a little OOC in this, but keep in mind the context here.**

**Once again, beta'd by Vandenbz**

* * *

**Interlude : The Truth**

* * *

Naruto shifted uncomfortably. This was not how he had imagined his night going. He had mostly planned on attending a party, maybe stay on the lookout for any 'suspicious types' as Lin had put it, and then simply return back to the island.

Instead, Korra had asked him to dance with her, there had been an all-out Equalist attack on the city, Korra had managed to unlock her airbending, and he had uncovered to other potential abilities as well; his altered Sage Mode and the yoki.

And it _was _yoki. Naruto had become very familiar with the energy during the war, and there was no mistaking that particular type of energy. But it didn't seem to be _Kurama's _yoki. On the way back to the temple, Naruto had tried to check his own mind, to see if the same mental plane he had used to contact Kurama was there again. It wasn't. There wasn't a single trace of the Bijuu. That meant that the yoki in his system was his and his alone, and he had no idea what to make of that.

But Naruto knew that he was only focusing on the yoki because it was the only way he could come up with to keep himself from outright panicking while they all waited for Tarrlok to arrive. Before they had gone back to the temple, Tarrlok had said that he needed to meet with some of his contacts and simply left.

Naruto, Korra, Lin, Tenzin and Pema—Tenzin had not wanted her to attend the meeting, but she had put her foot down on the issue—were currently in the main dining hall within the Temple—cleared to give them some form of privacy—waiting for Tarrlok to arrive from wherever he was now. At that point, Lin would undoubtably begin pressing him for answers. The woman was absolutely relentless when there was something that she felt was important and she didn't know. And since she clearly thought his transformation during the fight was important, Naruto knew that the older woman wouldn't let up until she was satisfied.

And that thought terrified him to the core. If Naruto had had his way, not even the others back home would have found out about his status as a jinchuuriki. The Akatsuki War had changed that, and while Naruto knew that the former Rookie Eight had accepted it, a part of him had always wondered if that was simply because there were few other options left for them if they wanted to win.

And now, he would have to explain what he was to people who had little idea what chakra was, let alone creatures like the bijuu. One wrong word, one bad impression, and that was it for him here. Granted, the fact that the others didn't even know about chakra could help him just as much as it could hurt him, but the thought was still terrifying.

Naruto felt something shift on his shoulder, and brought his attention to Korra.

_That's right._

Korra had learned more about him being a jinchuuriki than any of the others likely ever would. He wasn't sure how or why it had happened, but it had, and more importantly, Korra hadn't cared at all. He'd been able to feel that too. Naruto would definitely have to look into that at some point. Even if he hadn't been able to feel Korra's emotions (the concept was still mind-boggling), Naruto would have little doubts now, since she apparently felt comfortable enough around him to rest her head on his shoulder and fall asleep.

Korra had seemed to be holding herself together well enough after the fight, but on the way back Naruto had noticed her eyes starting to droop. By the time they had arrived at the temple, she was clearly fighting to stay awake, and, perhaps unintentionally, her head had leaned against his shoulder.

After the first hour of waiting had passed, she had simply fallen asleep.

If Korra had been so willing to accept him after finding out damn near everything about it, why wouldn't any of the others? It was perhaps a weak hope, but Naruto would take it.

The doors opened, announcing Tarrlok's arrival.

He was surprised to see that Tarrlok had also brought Bolin, Mako, and Asami with him as well.

Apparently so was Lin. "What are _they _doing here?" she asked, glaring in their direction. Bolin flinched, and Asami looked distinctly uncomfortable. Mako managed to hold a decent poker face, though. "Ask him," he said bluntly, gesturing to the Councilor.

Tarrlok didn't miss a beat. "I brought these three here because I believe they could contribute to your… questions." He finished with a pointed glance at Lin, causing her to scowl.

"Tell her exactly what you were telling the officer." Though he didn't so much as glance in their direction, it was clear that Tarrlok was talking to the three new arrivals. Privately, Naruto agreed with Lin; what _were _they doing here? Unless they directly saw his transformed state, there was really no reason for them to…

And Naruto suddenly got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Asami started, still looking rather uncomfortable. "Well, after Naruto left…"

_The symbol was _glowing_. Asami didn't know what that meant exactly, but she was positive that it couldn't be good. If it had been placed by there by the Equalists, then they had to get rid of the thing as fast as possible._

_"You guys have any idea how to destroy this thing?"_

_"Nope." Mako answered behind her, sounding just as uncertain as she felt. Well, at least she wasn't alone there._

_The ground suddenly jolted, and a small segment of the earth around the symbol rose into the air, before it was quickly crushed into pieces. Mako and Asami both turned to see Bolin, dusting off his hands and looking rather smug about what was undoubtedly his handiwork. "Problem solved."_

_There was a flash of light. They all turned back to the source, having to shield their eyes from the sudden blinding light. _

_Asami could barely make out what was inside the light. The light was now shaped like a circle, and she could see buildings filling it, buildings that almost looked like the ones downtown. And then she saw two figures, one of which she instantly recognized as Amon, who was currently fighting something else, something that was moving at speeds so fast she could just barely follow it. The thing was also surrounded by a glowing crimson aura, and Asami wouldn't have been surprised to learn that it was visible from a good distance away._

_Then the image sharpened, cleared, and Asami could begin to make out the figure surrounded by the glow._

_Was that Naruto?_

Tarrlok had brought Asami and the others here because they had indeed seen his transformation. He had apparently been heading back to the temple when he had overheard them talking with a metalbender officer who had found them some time after the fight was finished. Feeling that the information the group was divulging was too sensitive, Tarrlok had decided to take them along with him.

Naruto suppressed a wince as Asami finished her story. So they _had _seen him after all. Not good. He could have handled talking with Lin and Tenzin—he knew both of them well enough by now that he was willing to take a chance with them—and even though he had only spoken to the man a handful of times, Tarrlok struck him as a logical sort, the kind that wouldn't allow his own emotions to rule him.

Bolin, Mako, and Asami, however… they were a different matter.

Truth be told, while he may have liked the others at the temple well enough, he wasn't particularly close to any of them, Korra excluded of course. That had been partly intentional on his part—while he had basically adjusted to the new world he had found himself in, part of him had always known that he'd have to at least try and find a way back home. He didn't want to form any bonds that would make it harder for him to leave when the time came. Of course, Korra had utterly demolished that plan without even trying, but she was a rare exception.

Unfortunately, that distance also meant that Naruto had no idea how they would react. The three were nice enough, but when it came to things like being a jinchuuriki, Naruto could never be sure…

Korra shifted again, and this time her hand moved close enough that it was almost touching his own.

Naruto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He could do this. He just had to remember that Korra would still be there. Due to his eyes being closed, Naruto completely missed the interested looks the others gave him, with the exception of Tenzin, who merely shook his head, and Lin, who kept her expression blank.

"What do you want to know?" He directed his question at Lin, who stared right back at him, eyes still shut.

"I want to know what happened back there." The words came out in a near-growl, causing Naruto to frown. Was it something he said?

"But mostly," she continued, "I want to know what that red light—that may have been seen by the entire city, by the way—around you was. Not to mention how your body… changed." She clearly had another word in mind but cut herself off at the last minute. Well, he could answer that much.

"The 'red light' was yoki. The changes to my body were the result of my being a jinchuuriki."

Naruto had never been quite sure what to expect when he imagined himself finally admitting what he really was to other people. Whenever he pondered the idea, it had always fell inot the catagories of acceptance (when he was feeling more optimistic) and fear and hatred (when he hadn't felt like kidding himself). Whatever he had been expecting, though, universal blank stares was not it.

"Beg pardon?" Lin's confused look seemed reflect the feelings of everyone else in the room, and if Naruto wasn't so terrified at the moment, he might have found it funny.

Naruto prepared himself again. Not out of fear this time, but more because there was a hell of a lot to cover here, and he got the feeling that it would be in his own best interest to go into as much detail as possible.

"Alright," he glanced over at the others in the room, "you guys might want to sit down or something, this is probably gonna take a while."

Once they had, with Lin, Tenzin and Tarrlok still standing, Naruto took another deep breath. He had accepted that Korra didn't care about any of this, but that didn't make it any easier to talk about. Still, it wasn't as if there was anything he could do about it now. "The night I was born, a nine-tailed demon fox, the Kyuubi no Yoko, attacked my home village, Konohagakure…"

Naruto proceeded to give them the version of the attack that had always been told to him since he was a child; that the village was suddenly and without warning under assault by one of the most powerful beings in existence. Nobody knew how or why it had happened, but it had, and Konoha had been near powerless to stop it. Just about all of it had been lies, of course; there was really a lot more to the story than that, but if it worked for the village, Naruto figured it would work just as well here.

He paused when he got to the point where the Yondaime entered the battle. There was really no turning back now. He would either have to tell them everything, or nothing at all. As if she had somehow sensed his anxiety starting again, Korra shifted once more, this time actually nudging his shoulder in an almost aggressive manner.

_Alright, I get it, _he thought sarcastically. He had no idea how, but he got the distinct impression that Korra was smiling at his thought.

"…The official version of the attack was that the Yondaime defeated the Kyuubi by using a jutsu so powerful that it cost him his own life, a price he was more than willing to pay if it meant keeping the village that he loved safe, and that was the end of it."

Lin was not impressed. "And _unofficially_?"

Naruto nodded, conceding her point. "The Yondaime knew that he could never hope to defeat the Kyuubi on his own, so used a special sealing technique. This jutsu would defeat the demon fox, but at the cost of his own life. In exchange for his very soul, the Yondaime called upon the Shinigami, my world's Death God, to seal the demon's soul into the body of a newborn infant—"

"WHAT!?"

Naruto, who's eyes had drifted to the floor as he had spoken, abruptly snapped his gaze back towards Lin at her sudden outburst. He hadn't been expecting such fury at this point. Maybe when he had revealed _himself _as the newborn infant, he could see the fury then, but not now. And the older woman was absolutely livid, if her expression was anything to go by. Her usual professionalism had been replaced by a mask of pure rage, her jaw clenching tightly, her hands trembling with fury. She looked like she was on the verge of exploding, ready to lash out at anything that pushed her just a little bit. _Was it something I said?_

"Lin?" Tenzin asked with no small amount of caution, "is something the matter?" Naruto barely managed to restrain his groan at the monk's massive understatement.

Lin's head snapped towards him so fast that Naruto was honestly worried that she might have gotten whiplash. She snarled, actually _snarled_, causing Tenzin to back away slowly, his hands raised in a placating gesture. Lin ignored him in favor of taking a deep breath before turning back to Naruto. Only now he was surprised to note that there was almost no trace of the sudden fury that had claimed her before. Now she seemed to have calmed herself, and though Naruto could tell that she was still angry, Lin had managed to get it back under control.

"I'm guessing the 'newborn infant' in your little story was you?"

Naruto blinked, but he supposed that he should have seen this coming. In hindsight, he _had _made it fairly obvious for anyone who wanted to put the pieces together. He was curious that he wasn't panicking right now, but by this point he was simply too _tired _to muster the energy for fear.

"Yeah."

Lin nodded. She still seemed furious, though now Naruto was fairly sure that her anger wasn't being directed at _him._

"And it's safe for me to assume that you had no choice in having this, this… _demon _sealed inside you by your 'Yondaime'? At the cost of his own life?"

Naruto nodded, still not sure where she was going with this. It wasn't as if he had ever _resented _the Fourth Hokage for his actions.

Lin growled. "This… man," She clearly had another word in mind, but choose not to say it, "is very lucky he died doing this. Because if he was still alive, I would hunt him down myself."

Naruto frowned, still too worn out to summon any stronger emotion. "If my father _was _still alive, I'd rather you not try to kill him."

Lin halted as Naruto's words sunk in, before she brought a hand up to her temple. "Of course."

"Wait wait wait." Bolin finally cut in, waving his hands back and forth rapidly for emphasis. "So let me get this straight. You have some kind of giant demon sealed inside you?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, one little question; how is that even physically possible?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, curious that the boy seemed to be focusing on _that _rather than the large issues. Then again, Bolin hadn't really cared that he had been from another world, either, so maybe he shouldn't have been surprised.

But this was another problem that he hadn't thought of; how to explain the more complex parts of fuuinjutsu. It would have been challenging enough to explain it to a full-fledged shinobi, never mind people who couldn't even use chakra.

Okay, just think. How would he explain this to himself?

It didn't take long for an idea to come to him. _It's worth a shot, I guess._

Naruto turned his attention back to the others, still staring at him expectantly. "Alright, let me put it this way. Have any of you guys wondered how I never run out of weapons?"

Mako answered for the group. "Well, yeah, but we just assumed that it was a ninja thing."

Naruto managed a smile at that. "Pretty much. I can use a branch of fuuinjutsu, ah, Sealing Techniques, in order to store just about any amount of objects into a scroll that I want. It's the same principle behind my father sealing the Kyuubi inside me, just on a much larger scale." The explanation may have been horrendously oversimplified, but it would do.

He took a moment to collect himself, for the first time taking in the reactions of everyone else in the room. Lin was still clearly angry, though nowhere near as much as she had been before, Tenzin appeared deep in thought as usual, and Tarrlok merely had a raised eyebrow. Bolin still seemed to be working out the physics behind the sealing process, Mako and Asami both appeared thoughtful, though he couldn't be sure about what. Pema's reaction was interesting though. She noticed his gaze settle on her, and simply gave him a warm smile in response.

_That's it? No rage, no sudden angry mobs screaming for my blood?_

"Uh, why would we be screaming for your blood?" Asami's hesitant question, along with a renewed growl from Lin, brought him up short. Had he said that out loud?

Naruto raised an eyebrow in response. "Come on. You can't think that a guy who had the demon that almost destroyed his home would be _popular_, did you? And why should I expect anything different here?"

"But surely people wouldn't actually assault a _child_?" Tenzin muttered more to himself than anyone else.

"Well no, it never got that far." Naruto answered. Yeah, for the most part the village had treated him like a leper, but any actual attempts on his life were quickly put down by the ANBU guard assigned to him when he had been young. Not that he had ever actually _known _about them until a good while later, but still.

"But," this time it was Pema who spoke up, "why would you think _we _would hate you for it? It wasn't as if you, or even this Kyuubi no Yoko, had ever done anything to _us_." Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto thought he saw Tenzin nod approvingly.

He only shrugged, careful not wake Korra as he did so. "Personal experience, I guess."

Bolin, perhaps guessing what he had been thinking, deadpanned, "Dude, you have a giant demon sealed inside you. Why would we actually be stupid enough to attack you?"

"Ah," Naruto coughed, "_used _to have a giant demon sealed inside me."

Bolin only shrugged. "My point remains valid."

Huh. He hadn't been expecting that either.

"So," Asami started, "let me be sure I've got everything down here." She raised her hands, ticking off her fingers with each point she made. "You're from another world, sent here to help Korra," she paused, glancing at him, and Naruto nodded in conformation, "You are also some kind of assassin/soldier," Naruto managed to restrain his indignant protest, "and you had just finished a big war back in your own world, you're the son of one of your village's legends, and you also happened to be the container of one of the most powerful demons in history." She finished, taking an exaggerated deep breath before she turned back to him. "Have I left anything out?"

"Well, there's also the bit about me being a Sage Master and one of my home's best hopes of winning the war."

"Ah," Asami nodded, as if she had any idea what he was talking about. "Well, I guess that about covers it."

"Naruto," Pema started, smiling and making sure to look him in the eye, "the first thing you did when you woke up here was save my children. You could be an _actual_ demon and I wouldn't care."

Naruto paused, honestly not sure how to respond to that.

"Naruto is Naruto." He started at Korra's sudden input. He had honestly almost forgotten that she was still in the room. He turned back to her to find her eyes opened slightly as she looked up at him, a lazy smirk stretching across her face. "Told you so."

That was all she got out before her eyes closed again and she settled back into her original position, leaving a dumbfounded Naruto to stare at her.

"Korra?" Pema started, unable to keep the light teasing note out of her voice, "you _do _realize that you're resting your head on _Naruto Uzumaki's_ shoulder, right?"

Korra simply cracked a single eye open in response. "Don't care. Tired." She promptly closed her eye again.

Pema chuckled. "Well, I suppose I should put her to bed, then." She then lifted the now-sleeping Korra up into her arms—actually a pretty impressive feat—before somehow managing to carry the girl out of the room.

As if by some unspoken cue, Asami let out a yawn, though she tried to cover it with her hand. "It _has _been a long night," she muttered a bit sleepily. "I think I'm gonna turn in too."

"Well, 'night then." Naruto said, still having a little trouble believing that they had all accepted everything so easily.

Asami turned to him one last time before she left, a small smile on her face. "Maybe we could all train together sometime."

Naruto managed a smile. "I'd like that." He actually meant it, too.

* * *

Mako's mind felt like it was running in a hundred different directions as he followed his girlfriend and his brother down the hall to their respective rooms.

The subject of his thoughts wasn't really about what Naruto had told them all—though it was still one hell of a bombshell—but more about the events of that night.

Simply put, he, Bolin, and Asami had been pathetic.

They hadn't been able to do _anything_ at all. Sure, Bolin had destroyed that weird symbol, but if it hadn't been for that man in the trench coat taking out the Equalists surrounding it, Mako doubted they'd have been able to do even that.

Mako was not used to feeling like he was unable to do _something _to help the people he cared about, and he didn't like the experience at all. It didn't help that he was fully aware that if any of the others _had _fought Amon, they would likely be dead by now.

He had no idea of what had happened once Bolin destroyed that symbol, but Mako was fully aware of what they had all seen in that flash of light before it disappeared.

Whatever Naruto was using during that fight, it had made him unbelievably strong and fast. Mako was pretty sure that he had seen the blond actually carve gashes in the walls of a building when his claws had swept across them. And Amon had _still _been able to fight him to a standstill.

What the hell did that mean for the rest of them?

Simply put, it meant that unless something changed, and sooner rather than later, they would probably die.

Mako knew that, based on what he had seen, they would never be able to fight Amon one-on-one like Naruto or Korra could. But they could still help. They could get stronger. Maybe they could even help take out some of the weaker opponents so Naruto and Korra could focus on Amon.

"Okay," Bolin started, "so who here isn't surprised at all?"

Neither he nor Asami bothered to dignify that with a response. Bolin deflated. "Yeah, me too."

Mako felt pretty safe thinking that none of them had seen that particular detail coming.

"But you know," Asami started, "now that I think about it, it kind of fits."

"I guess," Bolin agreed weakly.

There was a moment of silence before Asami spoke up again. "What happens now?" Thankfully, Mako knew the answer to that.

"We get stronger."

Seeing he had their attention, Mako continued, his voice becoming more confident. "We get _better_. At the very least, we get strong enough so that Korra—and Naruto too, I guess" (he added the last part after a pointed look from Asami)—"won't have to fight the Equalists by themselves."

Asami and Bolin both nodded, apparently thinking along the same lines as he was.

It was a start.

* * *

Once she had left the room, and was absolutely sure nobody else was around to see her, Lin released an exhausted sigh, leaning her head against the stone walls of the temple in an attempt to soothe the oncoming migraine.

_That kid is going to be the death of me_, she thought wryly. She wasn't sure if she was joking, either.

Despite the tough front that she liked to present to the world, Lin knew that at heart she was, as Tenzin was fond of saying, a softy. That softness was especially apparent when it came to kids. While Naruto—and Korra as well, she supposed—was most definitely _not _a kid, he was still young, far too young for the type of job he claimed to have.

_"I turned seventeen about a month before I came here."_

_The kid was only _seventeen years old_. Lin still had trouble wrapping her head around the thought even a few hours after their spar. How could a boy have been through so much in just seventeen years? And from what else Naruto had told her, he had been a shinobi for a good five years before that._

_When Lin had heard _that _little detail, she had come very close to exploding. What kind of people regularly used a _twelve year-old _child as some type of soldier? She saw that Naruto was glaring at her, and only then realized that she asked the question out loud._

_"I wanted to become a shinobi, you know." That had served to calm her temper pretty well. It was one thing if a nation forced its children to fight for them, but quite another if those children had volunteered for it. Hell, in some ways Lin could respect that, even if she still strongly disliked the idea. Not to mention her own embarrassment at letting her anger get the better of her like that. That look in his eyes though, a mix of disappointment and hurt, had stayed with her the rest of the day._

_The next day, she had insisted that Naruto drop by her Headquarters again, if for no other reason than to try and apologize to him. He had accepted her apology quickly enough, though for some reason he had seemed surprised. Lin chose to ignore that._

_They had sparred again, and Lin had to admit to herself that the kid was _good_. He'd actually given her one of the best fights she'd had in years. She decided to ask some other questions that had been in the back of her mind then, hoping he was comfortable enough to answer again._

_"So what does a shinobi _do _exactly?"_

_Naruto had grinned before he answered, in a way that strongly reminded Lin of her mother when she was in a more mischievous mood. She probably would have liked the boy. "Officially, a ninja's job is to fight the enemy. Once war's been declared, we go in and stop it as soon as possible."_

_Lin frowned as she mulled over his words. Given what she knew of Naruto, that was far too professional of him. "And what do you _really_ do?"_

_Naruto's grin only widened. "Not telling."_

Oh yes_, _mother would have _loved _him_._

Her relationship with Naruto had improved after that. She may have had her suspicions of him at first—honestly, who could blame her?—but Lin found that she had actually started to like the kid. It certainly helped that he had far and away given her some of the best fights she had ever had, even though she could tell he was holding back.

But that brought her to something else that had been bothering her for quite some time; whatever feelings Naruto was trying to hide from the rest of the world.

Toph Beifong had been one of the greatest earthbenders who had ever lived, a fact that Lin took no small amount of pride in. And she was better. The day Lin had finally managed to beat her mother in one of their spars for the first time, after which she had simply smirked and muttered "That's my girl," had been one of the best moments of her life. And ever since that day, she'd done her best to make her mother proud.

This had led perfecting the techniques that her mother had taught her, in addition to creating a few of her own. One of which was sensing another's heartbeat—and to an extent, their emotions—through vibrations of the earth. While her mother had developed the technique, Lin had refined it, combining it with her metalbending so that she was able to perform the technique without the need of bare feet. She rarely used it outside of her job, preferring to allow people their privacy, she had decided to use it tonight, to try and get a reading on whether or not Naruto was actually being serious.

What she had been able to pick up was worrying.

Naruto _was _being truthful, but there was also plenty he had been holding back. Lin could understand that, so she hadn't called him out on it. But she was worried by what else she had picked up. Or more specifically what she _hadn't _picked up.

As he told his story, Naruto's emotions were all but dead. Before that, they had been incredibly scattered, mostly in some form of fear, with the expectations of when Korra had somehow been able to provide comfort to him.

It had to be some kind of defense mechanism—Lin's job required her to be familiar with psychology—but she was at a loss as to _why _Naruto needed it. What had he thought was going to happen? That they would turn on him? Or even worse, actually assault him?

Lin went over the possible reasons he would think that, and none of them were particularly reassuring. What the hell had happened to that kid?

She took a deep breath, attempting to calm her thoughts. Whatever had happened to Naruto in the past had happened. There was nothing she could do to change that. But she _could _help him now. They had been surprised, but accepted what Naruto had told them well enough. But she could tell that Naruto still clearly had doubts about their integrity.

If nothing else, she could help the kid with that.

* * *

_What in the world was happening to her?_

_Why was she suddenly having all these thoughts about Naruto now?_

_Granted, he had saved her life, but still, shouldn't she be feeling something more along the lines of gratitude in that case? At the very least, she shouldn't be thinking of how good he looked if it was just gratitude._

_The thought caused her cheeks to flush again. This was starting to get irritating._

* * *

_Okay, so she liked Naruto. Her thoughts while he had taken in the sight of the clothes they'd all repaired for him made that very clear. In hindsight, Korra was a bit embarrassed that it had taken her this long to figure it out; she'd liked a few boys before, what she felt now just happened to be a good deal stronger than any time in the past._

_Korra huffed, hands placed under her chin as she watched the sun set over the ocean._

_While at any other time Korra would have just admired the view, her thoughts were too scattered for it. _

_She liked him. Now what? This was definitely not the best time for her to develop a crush._

_She had run through several options in her mind over the past few days, and right now the one that seemed most appealing was simply nothing. Just admit that she might have had a crush on him and put it out of the pictur, worry about her love life (the thought caused her cheeks to flush once more) _after _the Equalists had been taken care of._

_Of course, Tarrlok's announcement of that damned party made her resolution difficult._

_"Something on your mind?" This surprised Korra—she'd heard Asami coming towards her, but hadn't expected the older girl to try and start a conversation._

_"I was thinking about the party." Not really true, but not exactly a lie either. She was embarrassed to find herself babbling and unable to stop it._

_"So you're wondering how to ask him, then?" Crap. Did that mean Asami knew? Korra was still struggling with her own thoughts about this, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to talk with someone else about it. _

_Then again, that didn't mean she couldn't have a little fun._

_"Ask who what?" She managed to keep the devious grin off her face when she saw Asami's stunned expression._

* * *

The ray of sunlight on her eyes was what finally managed to rouse her from what must have been a pretty deep sleep.

Korra let out a tired groan; whatever amount of sleep she had gotten, it hadn't been enough. Then again, after a night like last night, she doubted any more sleep would have helped that much. She was probably going to have to force herself to get out of the bed—

Wait. Bed?

_That _was enough to get her eyes open, and it didn't take long for her to realize that she was in her room. Huh. The last thing she remembered, she was waiting with Naruto for Tarrlok to arrive. She could vaguely recall something else happening, but the details were hazy at best.

And why did she feel so stiff? Okay, so she _had _been through one hell of a night. The party, the attack, finding Tarrlok, meeting Aang, unlocking her airbending—

Korra halted mid-thought for the second time since she had woken up.

That had really happened? Well, now she just _had _to try it, no matter how stiff she might have felt.

Korra lifted herself out of bed, brushing aside a stray lock of hair that fell past her shoulder—apparently whoever had put her to bed had also undone her ponytails—and walked to the middle of her room.

She took a deep breath, trying to recall everything that happened, everything that she had felt when she had—finally—used her airbending for the first time. Unlike what Tenzin had always stressed, Korra had not felt at peace with herself, or any kind of harmony with her inner-spirit. Instead, she had felt the same passion that she always felt when she fought. So maybe airbending really _did _work differently for her than other airbenders. But it actually hadn't needed an intense amount of focus like she thought it might. She'd just acted naturally. So maybe that would work here as well…

Korra spun, bringing her hands together while she did so, leaving a ball-shaped gap between them. Completing the spin, Korra thrust her hands out. A decently sized blast of air exploded from them.

YES!YES!YES!

It had actually worked! Korra, never one to keep a particularly strong grasp on her emotions, wanted to shout her jubilation from the rooftops. But she was also aware of the other people living at the Temple, and she did have _some _concern for her reputation. So, she managed to restrain herself to dancing around her room instead.

"KORRA!"

Until Tenzin's shout stopped her short.

She turned her head, fist still raised in the air, to the direction of Tenzin's voice. _Oh_.

Apparently, her airbending was more powerful than she had thought it was, if her door being blown out of its frame— narrowly missing a passing Tenzin in the process—was anything to go by. His expression was an interesting mix of anger, frustration, and she thought a little bit of pride as he fixed his stern gaze on her.

Korra found herself smiling back sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in a nervous gesture very similar to Naruto's. "Oops?"

Tenzin was not amused.

* * *

Tenzin sighed for what already felt like the hundredth time that day. Korra shifted awkwardly from her position on the floor across from him under his gaze. It was not that he was displeased that the girl had finally managed to unlock her airbending—how could he be?—but did she really have to be so… chaotic about? A part of him had truly hoped that Korra would have calmed down somewhat once she had unlocked her airbending. It was a reasonable assumption, he told himself; Korra would not only have to find peace with herself, but also maintain that peace if she wanted to be able to airbend effectively—or at least, that was how he had always been taught. But it seemed it was not to be.

It certainly raised some interesting questions in his mind. Why was Korra seemingly able to airbend in such a way that he had always thought was impossible? Was it because of her interactions with the Spirits? And if it was, why would the Spirits grant her such abilities? Tenzin supposed such a thing was by no means impossible, but it seemed to indicate that their situation was far more perilous than they had thought it was.

Her encounter with Aang, though curious, did not surprise him. It was logical that Aang, as her predecessor, would reach out to her at some point. Some of his father's comments that Korra had mentioned piqued his interest though. What was this Dírén? Tenzin was also somewhat curious about the 'first Avatar' comment himself, but he knew that it would have to wait for another day.

There was one other pressing matter that he wanted settled. "So, what is this 'bond' that you and Naruto seemed to develop the other night?" Korra couldn't have been blushing at the end of his question. It had to be his imagination.

"W-well," he had surely not heard Korra stutter as well, "he was angry about something, I'm not quite sure what, and I could actually feel it as it happened."

Tenzin nodded. Such bonds between two people were extremely rare, but not entirely unheard of either. Granted, he would have to track down records that dated back centuries, but still…

Korra continued, her voice now stronger. "And then, when I asked Naruto about his… transformation?" She paused, her head tilted in an almost curious manner. "It doesn't matter. Anyway, I asked him about it, and he didn't really answer, but he thought about what it meant, and I just knew it as well."

Now _that _was interesting. Tenzin had never quite heard or read of a bond that allowed for that particular trait. Was it another aspect of the Spirit's gifts to her? Or something that occurred naturally for the first time in history? With Korra, it could have been either one.

"So you were able to read his mind?"

Korra shook her head. "It didn't work like that for me. I could feel everything he did, and once I came back, I was just able to pick up some of his thoughts and their meaning. I think if he really didn't want me to hear them, I wouldn't have. But I can't feel any of that now." He sincerely hoped that he was just imagining the touch of sorrow in her voice.

Well, at any rate, it was time to focus on other matters. "We will have to begin your training as soon as possible."

Korra reacted as he would have thought; her eyes shone with anticipation. "Really?"

Tenzin nodded, managing to keep the smile off his face. "Of course. You didn't expect us to do nothing about your new abilities, did you? You truly are the Avatar now, Korra. And we can't have the Avatar lagging behind in her training, can we?"

He could all but feel the happiness that radiated off of Korra as he finished.

"I spoke with Naruto earlier," he continued, "and he has agreed that it might be wise to start training Asami, Mako, and Bolin as well, at least with one those clones of his." Actually, the children had been the ones to suggest the idea to him, but Korra didn't need to know that. While they had been hanging near Korra while she had been attempting her airbending training, they hadn't really been able to do all that much to help her. Naruto training with Lin at the Police Station hadn't helped matters, either.

"Oh! That reminds me," Tenzin could only pray that the hopeful tone in her voice was another figment of his imagination. "Where _is _Naruto?"

He had not been imagining anything. Tenzin sighed again; he was not meant to deal with teenage girls!

* * *

Naruto was doing something that would have greatly surprised anyone who had known him before the war began: he was thinking deeply, sitting in a near-lotus position as he watched the ocean.

Naruto thinking like this was actually a great deal more common than most people would have thought. He just preferred to do it when no one else was around.

At the moment, his thoughts were mostly occupied by three things: whatever it was that had happened between him and Korra the other night, the others' reactions when he had told them about being a former Jinchuuriki, and—though he tried to avoid it—his own past, especially the final days of the Akatsuki War.

What had happened between him and Korra was… well, he wouldn't call it 'unpleasant', but it had been decidedly strange. The concept of feeling another persons's emotions was not new to Naruto; there were actually a few small bloodlines he could think of that worked in a similar fashion. But he had never really thought it would ever happen to _him_. But that link, for lack of a better word, was all but gone now. In the back of his mind, he was distantly aware that Korra was now awake, but that might have had more to do with the blast of air that had exploded out of the Temple than any psychic link. He did know a few seals that might be able to help him recreate it, though, if Korra was interested. Of some reason the thought made him nervous, actually more so than he was when he had told the others the truth—or parts of the truth—about his past.

Now that he had time to go over the events of the other night in his head, Naruto still had difficulty believing that the others had accepted him so easily. A part of him still had doubts—even when it came to Korra—and probably would for a long time yet. He was hoping that his next sparring session with Lin, who had insisted that they go to the Police Station again today, might give him time to clear his head. The other members of Team Avatar—he still couldn't resist smiling whenever he heard that name— asking to start training with him also went a long way to proving their honesty.

Then there was the last big concern for him, the war. Amon's declaration that he would kill Korra had forced some of his worst experiences with the war to the front of his mind, and Naruto had allowed the rage he still felt towards the bastard Madara to overwhelm him. If he had forced himself to keep a clear head, he might have been able to put up a better fight. Well, he had protected Korra, so it wasn't as if Naruto could really complain.

Naruto had thought that he had managed to put the war behind him, but it looked like he hadn't quite managed it yet. He was aware that something like Kumogakure being razed to the ground would have gotten to anyone, but still…

"There you are!" Korra's voice—thankfully—broke him out of his thoughts before he could dwell on his memories any longer. The last of his memories faded away completely as he turned to face her. That actually happened pretty often whenever he talked to her, though Naruto wasn't sure why.

He noticed two things when he laid his eyes on her; one, that Korra was now wearing her airbending uniform. Second, that her hair wasn't done in her usual three-ponytail style. Apparently, Korra was content with letting it hang loose, so that it stopped a little past her shoulders. Naruto thought that he actually kind of liked her hair this way, before he forced the sudden thought out of his mind.

"Hey," he returned with a warm smile that seemed to come naturally when he was around her.

They both paused after that, neither one of them quite sure what to say. For some reason, though, Naruto didn't mind the silence.

"So," Korra said at length, "crazy night, huh?"

Naruto barked out a laugh. "That's one way of putting it!"

Korra let out a soft laugh of her own. Naruto had also found that he liked her laugh; it almost never came out in a girlish giggle like some of the girls he had known back home, but deeper, more throaty, often in the form of a chuckle. Why were these odd thoughts popping into his head?

Korra took a deep breath, and Naruto could have sworn that she was blushing a bit as her eyes shifted to the side, away from him. "Look," she started, "about last night…" she trailed off, seemingly unsure of what to say at this point.

"…Thank you." She spoke so quietly that Naruto had to strain to hear it.

He blinked, unsure how to respond.

Korra continued, her voice growing more confident as she locked eyes with him. "You saved my life last night." Naruto opened his mouth, but Korra brought her hand up in a silencing gesture. "Let me finish. You saved my life twice now, probably in more ways than one. Not only that, but I'm pretty sure that the only reason I'm able to airbend now is because of you." If anything, her blush seemed to intensify, and her eyes darted away again.

Naruto still didn't know what to say. He'd never really had anyone speak to him like this before. Okay, he had, but those few times that it had happened, nobody had spoken to him with such absolute conviction in their voice before. Where was she going with this?

His thoughts were brought to an abrupt halt as Korra leaned in and pressed her lips against his cheek.

It seemed to last for hours, but in reality was probably only a few seconds. If Naruto was at a loss before, he had no idea how to describe what he was now.

And then it was over as Korra turned the instant she leaned back from him, abruptly running back to the temple for what he could only presume was her training, shouting "See you later!" over her shoulder.

Naruto could do nothing more than stare, all but rooted to the ground.

_What the hell was _that_?_

* * *

Korra was positively giddy as she headed back to the temple, despite the fact that her face felt like it was on fire from all the blushing.

That had actually gone a lot better than she had thought it would.

_Don't focus on fighting Amon so much that you push all _other _aspects of your life aside._

She had tried to not let it show, but the entire time she had been talking with Tenzin, Aang's final words to her had been running through her mind constantly. She could only guess that he had been talking about Naruto at the time, which implied that he had somehow known about her decision to do nothing about her—rapidly growing, to her concern—crush. While it really should have creeped her out that a dead person was interested in her relationships, Korra just didn't care at this point.

If Aang really was telling her that some kind of relationship with Naruto would not, as she had thought, damage her fight against the Equalists, then she was going for it.

She just had to work out _how._


	17. Update

Sorry for the lack of an actual chapter (believe me, these things annoy me just as much as you people), but I just wanted to let anyone still reading this story that it is not dead. I'm just very stuck at the moment. I won't go into the reasons for my being stuck here (you lovely people don't deserve having to put up with my ramblings), but if you are curious, send me a PM, don't worry about reviews.

I also wanted to assure you all that the next chapter is in progress, and come hell or high water, I WILL have it finished by the end of the month.

Thank you all for your patience.


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